First Things First

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, 

but also to the interests of others. Philippians 3:4  

“It’s my way or the highway!” “Now that I’m in charge, we’re doing things my way.” “Because I’m the boss, that’s why.” Powerful statements, right? Not according to God’s Rule Book. Leaders in God’s kingdom are to do things the way Jesus did them, not the way the world trains us. Have you noticed how God likes to flip things upside down and backward? He does things opposite from the way we think they should be done. He uses foolish things to stump smarties. He exalts the humble and brings down the prideful. So leadership in His family is backward from the way we think it should be. God says leaders are those who consider the interests of everyone else before their own. That lifts a few eyebrows in our me-first world.

So what does it look like when a leader considers everyone else first? Anytime we have “how” questions, we should look first at Jesus. How did He do it? He was a leader and He got tired—but He didn’t get grumpy. He was misunderstood—but He didn’t blame. He had to repeat Himself to the clueless disciples—so He said it again, in a different way. He didn’t panic when He was expected to produce supper for a stadium full of people or embarrass His mom when His host ran out of wine. He didn’t snap when that ONE MORE PERSON needed His healing touch or refuse to serve because they didn’t appreciate it.

When we have questions about the best way to lead, we should first ask, 

“How did Jesus do it?”

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