“It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,” (Matthew 20:26)

Many companies make mistakes when they hire a CEO, they try to get a charismatic leader who becomes “a genius with a thousand helpers”. This person demands to be the center of attention and receive all the praise. Others in the company are “peons” just helpers who deserve no recognition. The most successful companies have leaders who are “humble visionaries”. They lead with passion but they are happy to give plenty of credits to anyone and everyone else.

With Jesus’ leadership strategy, the normal style of leaders demands to be the center of attention. Jesus told His followers to show their greatness by serving. He then dispelled any misconceptions of what it means to be a servant by picking up a towel and washing the dirty feet of the men at the table, the job of the lowest servant in the home.

One huge lesson in this passage: If you want to be my disciple, you need to serve humbly. You need to learn how to put the needs of others before your own. You need to be willing to give whatever service is needed – not just how you want to serve. Even, and perhaps especially, in positions of authority, we need to see that role as one of service – real service, however, it is needed.

We need to become more like our Master, who did not come to be served but to serve.