When you are with your friends, do you enjoy being in charge and making up the rules to a new game? Do you like giving everyone their instructions on how to play? Or would you rather see what others are doing and help them with what they need?
I bet you enjoy a little bit of both—leading others in some ways and helping out in others! Whichever you enjoy the most, do not feel bad about it! Leading and following are very important and both are needed.
Every team needs a coach and every coach needs a team, right? Could there even be a soccer team without a coach? Or what good is a coach without the team? It just could not work! They both need each other in order to play.
Being able to lead others is a gift, and being able to work well with other people is a gift too. In Matthew 20:26 Jesus says, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” Think about Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus is always our example and the Bible says that He is both a leader and a servant. As God’s Son, He is in charge but He leads by helping others.
The next time you are trying to get your friends or little brothers or sisters to do something, do not just boss them around! Be patient. Show them how to do it and think of how you can help them.
How can you lead by serving today?
Dear God, help me to lead. Help me to follow. Thank You for teaching me that serving others is how I start being a leader. In Jesus’s name, amen.