The Heart of a Servant

The author of Proverb 23 states it this way, ““As he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7 KJV).
The reality behind this proverbial quote is that we eventually and inevitably become what is inside us. If we are transformed by the saving power of Christ then that new creation will undoubtedly begin to work its way into our lifestyles.
Being a servant means having a servant’s heart. You can try to do a good deed every day but until your heart is in it you’ll never be able to serve effectively for the kingdom. In order to lead effectively one must learn to serve effectively. We must model a lifestyle which emulates the life Jesus lived.
Servant leadership is an ancient concept which has been recognized in the last few decades. Wikipedia shares these facts about it. “Robert Greenleaf is recognized as the father of servant leadership. Greenleaf (1977) described servant leadership in this manner: "It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: do those served grow as persons, do they grow while being served, become healthier, wider, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?"
Through extensive work with Greenleaf, Larry Spears, the director of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, identified ten characteristics, which describe the essence of a servant leader. The characteristics are listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and building community.
How many characteristics of a servant leader do you have? Perhaps the better question would be, “How many do you want?” If we are to represent Jesus, it is vital that we learn to serve others in His name. We serve Him by serving them.