v 44 Whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.
Want to do well in your job – make a difference in the world – get satisfaction from it – become a leader? Well, the way forward is to become a slave!
Just how good is that as an employment strategy? Answer – it is 100% on target.
It views work, not as a self-seeking, income-generating activity, but as a means of serving others and adding something to their lives. To aspire to be a leader, and make an impact on your community, you have to become a slave on its behalf. I’ve recently read the 3-volume Autobiography of Alan Johnson, the Labour politician who left school at 16 and then worked his way up through helping other postmen in his office to become Home Secretary in the Blair administration. It is the tale of a self-sacrificing man, described by some as ‘The Best Prime Minister Britain never had.’ His vision of working in society as a Servant-leader set him apart as different. Would that there were more like him in Politics and the business world.
And isn’t that exactly the quality we admire in Jesus though? Isn’t that what Paul describes in Philippians 2? He gave up his divine privileges, he took the humble position of a slave, and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Pray today for that kind of leadership in our current society.
If Politics and Business were like that, what a different world it would be!
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