Obedience: Another stepping stone toward Servant Leadership
The argument has happened on more than one occasion and for more than reason. The premise of the argument is that I am the adult and you are the child. This discussion revolves around the fact that I pay the car insurance and he preforms that chores that I assign. When the chores don’t get done, I complain about I am holding up my end of the bargain and you didn’t hold you yours. “Fine” he says, “then I will just give you the money for the insurance.” Then, here it comes, I blurt out, “I don’t want your money, I want your obedience.” Wow, did I say that? “I want your obedience.” Really? My dad said that to me. His father probably said that to him. Then it dawns on me, our Eternal Father has said that to us “I want your obedience.”
So Samuel said: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” – 1 Samuel 15:22 (NKJV)
Being demanding, dictatorial and authoritarian doesn’t sound very “leaderly”, if I can coin a phrase. We are supposed to be communicative, empowering, enabling, supportive. How can I stand there and demand obedience? God expects obedience and I do my best to give it, not because God requires it, but because God has earned it.
As leaders we can expect plenty of things out of the people we lead. Respect, obedience, performance, attention, concurrence but that is positional authority. We are instilled with positional authority by title or rank only, it’s power comes primarily out of fear of retribution. There are plenty of “leaders” who wield that type authority but not Servant Leaders.
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. – Hebrews 13:17 (NIV)
