In our ever changing and difficult world the words of Howard Hendricks ring true, “The key to leadership is endurance.” Leadership is not for the faint at heart. It’s difficult on many levels. It requires the ability to manage complexity as well as deal with critics and nay Sayers. It involves making tough decisions on a daily basis and being held responsible for the outcomes of those decisions. It takes tough skin and a gentle heart and the ability to not allow the two to get rearranged. A capacity to stick to the task at hand even when the accolades aren’t forthcoming and things are difficult defines the true leader.
In our overly sensitive, pluralistic, politically correct and tolerance addicted society we have emasculated strong leadership. In our overemphasis on “servant leadership” we have epitomized leadership as something so soft and gentle that it is almost non existent. In fact, in many places the idea of “silent leadership” is held up as the correct pattern.
The problem with this sentiment is that we have miscalculated and misinterpreted the true meaning of servant leadership. We see the word servant and we start thinking of a lowly, mamby pamby, Casper milk toast , sniveling individual who wouldn’t dare make a decision or stand up for what he or she believes in. So the pressure is placed upon leaders to “act like servants” which is just another way of telling them to shut up and sit down. This is not the kind of leadership we see exemplified by Christ. In Philippians 2:5-9 we see the ultimate picture of a servant leader. Paul paints us this portrait of our Lord and Savior. Yes in vs. 7 we see that He took the form of a bondservant which in biblical times meant a willing slave. But in the previous verse we see that He did not think it robbery to consider Himself equal with God! What does that mean? That He knew who He was. He knew He was God! Even a cursory perusal of the gospels would lead one to the obvious conclusion that He was very vocal about this knowledge and understanding. It didn’t seem to bother Jesus that people called Him blasphemous when He told them that He was the son of God. Today we would gasp if a leader was so forthright in their understanding that God had called him or her to lead. We would say that person wasn’t being humble.
Then back in vs 7 we see what true leadership and consequently true servant hood is. It’s making ourselves of no reputation. That was what Christ did. In other words, He didn’t care what people thought about Him. He said what He needed to say and He did what He needed to do. He did say that He came to serve and that is exactly what He did. But there were many people who believed Him to be anything but a servant. They hated Him so much that they killed Him. Does this mean that He wasn’t a servant? Does it mean that He wasn’t a servant because He was confident in who He was? Does it mean that He wasn’t a servant because He had a reputation among many as being someone who was trying to draw attention to Himself through His words and miracles? I fear that in our modern concept of servant leadership Jesus would not pass the test. Leadership is not for the weak. Servant hood is not synonymous with “Scared to death” and humility does not equate humiliation.
If we were to be honest with ourselves many of us would need to admit that our main motive in being “servant like” is for the purpose of gaining the reputation of a servant. How many times do we take a quick glance to see who is looking before we engage in an act of service? Most of us play the game. We know that the more humble we can make everyone think we are the more likely we will be considered for leadership. So servant hood by in large has been down graded to acts of service no longer measured by heart attitudes as it should be. So we become experts at opening doors for young ladies and mopping floors and cleaning toilets all the time knowing that we are gaining brownie points with the servant leader crowd.
I’m certainly not saying that acts of service are wrong. But let’s make sure that our motives are right. I have a sneaky suspicion that the most humble and servant like among us go unnoticed. They may even be people that we have assumed are arrogant. We may have no idea of how much money, time and energy they give because they do it secretly without public recognition and accolades. We may even be surprised to realize that some of the strongest and most confident among us are also the greatest servants but because they care so little about impressing us we never even know it. And they are content to let many of us think them to be arrogant and pompous rather than showcase their humility.
We live in a world that is desperate for strong leadership. Leaders who will serve, not to be recognized and applauded as a servant but who will stand up for what is right no matter what people think or say about them. This is the true mark of humility and it is the true test of leadership. Are you up for the task?
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