“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me.” (1 Samuel 9:16)
A mom was signing up her teen for an after-school program and said to her daughter: don't be a follower, be a leader. That directive is recited by just about every good parent I know of (including myself) to our kids, trying to convince them not to follow the crowd but to stand strong against temptation and wrong actions. Yet if every kid is expected to be the leader, then who follows?
We live in a generation that values leadership. People see leaders as "made", by study, development, training, opportunity, etc. Great value is placed on being the leader, and little value is associated with those who are followers. Yet Jesus called his disciples to be followers first. In fact, Jesus VALUES followership. He saw in 12 men their potential to change the crowd and took them on in his 3-year training program to be good followers.
Leadership is not about taking on a position of authority to protect ourselves or gain something for ourselves. And it certainly is not a role given to people for the purpose of satisfying their egos or their checkbooks. Leadership is a responsibility --- it is the act of following something greater than ourselves and serving those we lead with what's best for them. Leadership really has very little to do with us, and more to do with others.
Maybe instead of encouraging our kids to be leaders instead of followers, we need to tell them to be followers of the right person first. Better that our children learn to follow Jesus first, than try to lead without a right role model to emulate. Instead of telling our kids to be a leader instead of a follower, maybe we should tell them to be a follower of the right leader.
That might just make them a better leader too...
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