From Forward Day by Day
Mark 10:43-44 Jesus said, “But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
I learned something about Christian leadership one summer when I was in college. Working at a low-level job for an organ builder, my task was to wash and clean thousands of pipes in a massive pipe organ. All those pipes had to be brought down several stories to the workroom to be cleaned.
One day, a large crew, including the president of the company, showed up to move several thousand pipes in one day. The president arrived and said, “Tell us what to do; we’re at your service.” I tried to suggest that he should give the orders. “You’ve been here a few days, and you know the lay of the land.” He and the rest did things as I suggested. I learned from this faithful man that being in charge sometimes means taking the low position, and sometimes that means having the least likely person become the leader. I wonder how many times in my life I have missed rich opportunities because I tried to lead instead of becoming the servant.
