I have been reflecting on John 13:1-17 for the past few months.
How does one become an effective leader?
I believe it takes a combination of aptitude, people skills, attitude, etc. I shall elaborate on attitude as illustrated in John 13.
Jesus actually washed the feet of his disciples. This is profound and serves as a yardstick of humility and servitude.
When I was in secondary school, my principal and a few teachers actually washed some the feet of some students. This takes place in front of the entire school assembly. The students will sit in a row and my principal will wash their feet. This takes place to show the humility of Jesus Christ.
This simple event has made an impact in my life. It constantly reminded me of the need to be humble and have a golden heart of servitude. I also believe that Jesus deliberately carry out this significant activity before the Last Supper. He wants the disciples to constantly adopt a heart of humility and servitude.
To conclude, I will leave some quotes which I got from Wikipedia.
a) Chanakya or Kautilya, the famous strategic thinker from ancient India, wrote about servant leadership in his 4th century B.C. book Arthashastra:
"the king [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects [followers]"
"the king [leader] is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people".
b) In approximately 600 B.C., the Chinese sage Lao Tzu wrote The Tao Te Ching, a strategic treatise on servant leadership:
The greatest leader forgets himself
And attends to the development of others.
Good leaders support excellent workers.
Great leaders support the bottom ten percent.
Great leaders know that
The diamond in the rough
Is always found “in the rough.”
c) "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45)
-ed-
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2 comments:
I was reading the same verses a few days ago from the baptism material:
"Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. And he calls all who would follow him to have the same servant attitude towards other believers. Don't try to be big and important. Don't look for opportunities to promote yourself. Don't wait for big task. But be a servant like Jesus. Look for opportunities to do lovely things for other people. Be willing to take the unimportant and hidden tasks. God see and He will reward you. "
I think what is linked to this is also to realise your spiritual gift that God has given to you and use this gift to serve. Everyone is given different gift, some maybe leadership quality, some maybe interpersonal skills... just discover it and use it. (1 Cor 12:4-7; Rom 12:4-8)
Amen
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