What is our leadership responsibility toward our people?
Role-Playing Questions
Imagine you and your spouse are alone in the Garden of Eden. Your spouse ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? You decide not to join your spouse in eating the forbidden fruit.
1. How do you imagine your spouse would feel?
2. How would you react to your spouse’s emotions?
3. How would you approach God about what happened without partaking in the same fruit? How would you discuss the situation with God without judging good and evil?
The Second Story about Humans
In the second Bible story about humans, the oldest brother has a fine idea to offer God a sacrifice. His little brother copies him and also gives God a sacrifice. God only accepts the younger brother’s sacrifice, making the older brother furious. God patiently gives the older brother another chance to not fall into temptation. This time sin is portrayed as something that crouches in front of the entrance to that place where God rules.
“‘Why are you so angry?’ the LORD asked Cain. ‘Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master’” (NLT, Gen. 4:6-7).
Cain pondered God’s suggestion for a while, but one day he invited his brother to go for a walk (Gen 4:8). Cain decided to take matters into his own hands to set things right with a power-over solution. This did not end Cain’s relationship with God but immeasurably complicated his life.
Abel decides not to judge Cain back, to be negatively influenced by Cain’s angry emotions, and even to accept an invitation to go out together. Abel’s exemplary behavior is mentioned in the same breath as Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. The author of Hebrews explained.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:22-24).
“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks” (Heb. 11:4).
God is more interested in our attitude, character, and behavior than in the short-term results of our ministry.
A Different Kind of Leadership
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:25-28).
Embrace Servant Leadership Responsibility
Notice that Jesus does not suggest His people avoid leadership. In 1987, I flew from the Norther Yukon to Dallas, Texas, to attend Bible School. Two months into the semester, the school authorities asked me if I would be a student leader. I declined, stating I was used to the headaches of leadership from the road crews in the North, and I wanted to focus on prayer and study. Soon willing-but-immature student leaders demanded I participate in meetings at inconvenient-to-me hours; it felt unreasonable. To release my frustration, I ran so far and hard that I hurt my hip. That took years to heal. Sometime into that experience, I promised God I would not run from His call to leadership. I always felt my biggest learning at Bible School was an introduction to living and working with Christians. God’s goal is to teach us to lead as Servant Leaders, where He carries the weight and responsibility, and we serve those we influence.
Jesus invites us into the puzzle of influencing our people by staying close to them while not using our power-over advantage to get results. Or how do you think that works with servants when they enforce a power-over decision on their masters? Consider Apostle Paul’s list of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Fruit of the Tree of Life to understand the nature of your leadership decisions (Gal 5:18-24).
A Suggestion
Ask the Holy Spirit to orchestrate a servant-leader training program specifically for you, so you can experience how it works. It might take a few years for God to get the players in place, but I would love to hear your story.
Question
When has a power-over leadership decision produced the long-term results you hoped for?
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