Recently I was talking with a friend about the concept of Selfless Leadership and abundant the lack of it in our society.
Our culture has established a sense of “Me” focus leadership. One whos focus is based more on exalting the leader than actually leading others towards a greater purpose. And sadly friends our “Christian bubble” is not devoid of this, many times we can lead the charge.
So who do we look at as our example? How do we approach selfless leadership when there very little people actually practicing it?
In John 3 there’s a group of people who approach John the Baptist regarding the fact that Jesus now baptizing people and that He was building a following. To a common leader in our culture today this would seem alarming as John could have seen Jesus as competition, but John’s response is totally countercultural:
To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:27-30
The people expect John to build himself up, to somehow discredit Jesus’ ministry and exalt himself. The focus of biblical leadership is never to put the focus on yourself, but glorify the Lord’s name above all else. Above our wants, and our deepest desires. Above our reputation and pride.
A leader is someone who is a selfless servant.
Friends let’s lay our lives down and become living sacrifices. Let us dedicate ourselves to making Christ’s love known to others.
“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake”- 2 Corinthians 4:5
Let us be arrows that point others towards our Savior, not makeshift idols in search of purpose or importance.
Who because of His love can love others beyond the human condition.
Love Beyond The Human Condition 
Great post. I love the connection between scripture and real life examples! We would all be lying if we stated that we never struggle with the issue of selfish leadership. Are sinful nature seeks out the best for ourselves, and doing actions for our own glory. Sometimes we may even find ourselves worshiping God just to be glorified by others for our “passion” towards Christ. I really enjoyed your breakdown of Johns words and thoughts into a form that was extremely simple to understand as well. It’s funny, I have spend many hours in the word, reading the bible and doing research on scripture, but never once did I come across a verse that was commanding us to find self-glory and be worshiped by others through our actions. That is because the glory must go to God, just as you stated that John exhibited. Honestly though, imagine how obedient and faithful that John must have been to follow through with what he did…amazing! Thanks for shedding some light on this amazing verse!
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