Commitment is one of my core values. I like to make decisions and stick to them. I'm usually not the type of person to be really indecisive about stuff. Indecisive people drive me insane. Some of my friends (bless their little hearts) really struggle with making decisions. Chocolate or vanilla? Coke or Dr Pepper? This college or that college? Eat at that restaurant or that one? Talk about this or talk about that? Indecisiveness drives me insane! So I really like the definition of commitment: sticking with your choices. I fully believe in sticking with your choices. When you pick something, stick to it. Don't waver back and forth. It saves time and effort to just pick something and go with it. It may take time to decide some things, like where you want to go to college, or whether or not to ask your girlfriend's hand in marriage (and those decisions do require an immense amount of prayer and thought), but once you've made a decision, you owe it to everyone to stick to your choice.
If you want to be a servant leader, it will take commitment. That's why commitment is probably the most important of all eight qualities. You have to be committed to agape love if you want to be a servant leader. It takes commitment to be patient. It takes commitment to be kind. It takes commitment to be humble. It takes commitment to be respectful, selfless, forgiving, and honest. If you want to be a servant leader, you need to be committed to it.
I can promise you that it won't be easy. It won't be easy, and that's why you'll need commitment. Having all eight of these qualities will not come naturally. It takes a lot of hard work and strenuous effort to apply all eight characteristics of agape love to your life. There are going to be times when you mess up, and times when you want to give up completely. I can promise you trouble, trials, and tribulations.
Sometimes I succeed and act like a servant leader, and those times are happening more and more frequently. But other times, I don't act like a servant leader. There are times when I am a selfish leader. I am not always patient, kind, humble, respectful, selfless, forgiving, and honest. But I'm not perfect, and I require to be loved unconditionally just like everyone else does. It takes an immense amount of commitment for me to stick with servant leadership, but it's so worth it.
The good news is that Proverbs 16:3 tells us, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." If you stick to it, if you hang in there, and if you stay committed, you will reap the benefits of servant leadership. You will discover new life in the arms of agape love. I know I have. In the past two months that I've been learning about servant leadership, I have become a different person. I see Scripture through new eyes. I see people through new eyes. I see my job through new eyes. I see the church through new eyes. And I see the purpose to my existence through new eyes. I now fully understand why I should treat others like I want to be treated. Now I understand why the second greatest commandment Jesus gave was to love others like we loved ourselves.
If you are patient, kind, humble, respectful, selfless, forgiving, honest, and committed, then you'll treat others how you want to be treated. You'll not only be a great person to be around, but an excellent example to follow. Being a servant leader is a high calling. The truth is that not everyone is a leader, but everyone has the potential to be one. Are you a leader? Will you find it in yourself to commit to servant leadership? Will you take the challenge of becoming a role model for others to look up to? Or will you fade into the oblivion of selfishness like everyone else?
What will you commit to? The choice is yours.
1 comment:
Interesting post, this was really useful. thanks!
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