They'll do anything for you

1Kings 12:7 They said, “If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you.”

Solomon has died; his son, Rehoboam is king, and seeks the advice of his elders in response the complaints of the northern tribes. This is what the elders say: treat the people with compassion and they will follow you anywhere. What does he do? He follows the advice of his young cohorts with no experience who are eager to show how tough they are. As a result, he loses the northern tribes to his rival, Jeroboam, and the kingdom is split in two.

The servant leader: how few of our leaders understand the value of this approach. It was Jesus example to his followers, and here we see it modeled in the Jewish tradition as well, the foundation of Jesus’ thought. Leaders often think they need to use power and control to keep people in line: think bosses, coaches, police, parents. Over and over, however, people find that by interacting with those you serve/have power over, by establishing good relationships you end up having more influence for the good, than if you try to force people just to do what you want. I think of programs where the police work with the community to combat crime, instead of holding the community hostage. I think of Phil Jackson, who showed you don’t have to browbeat your players to get excellence. The funny thing is, as soon as he has one losing season, after a nearly unprecedented winning streak (don’t know enough basketball to be certain of this) his whole method is discounted, whereas all those other teams that are losing are using the power and control method, and yet it isn’t discounted. The difficult thing is that in some ways, using power and control works; it initially gets people to respond. The downside is that when you are ruling with fear you constrict people’s creativity and productivity, and you are filling a well with resentment. It is especially true with parents. You can get your little children to do what you want (though they may fight and scream) by using physical and emotional force, but there will come a time when they are too old for that, and if you haven’t established a strong relationship by that time, you’ll lose them. They’ll rebel, just like the northern tribes, and head out on their own, often into worse trouble than what you’ve been trying to keep them from.

Prayer: Dear God, You have invited me into opportunities for leadership. Help me remember that my duty as a leader is to serve those I lead, to care for their needs and inspire them to do their best. Call me into the power to fulfill your mission for me, and for them. Amen.