Thursday, March 17, 2011

Self-indulged

Self-indulged leaders are not hard to find. This is the opposite of servant leadership and is an embarrassment to the Christian faith. Christ, who was certainly equal with God, humbled Himself to exemplify servant leadership.

Paul writes to Titus in Titus 1:7 and reminds him that when he is appointing leaders in the church he needs to look for men who are not arrogant, self-willed or presumptuous. He should not recruit men who are hot tempered, given to drink, brawlers or greedy.

Most of these behaviors are by-products of this first quality of being "self-indulged. authádēs (an adjective, derived from autós, "self" and hēdomai, "to gratify self, be indulgent") – properly, a person who gratifies self, i.e. fixed in self-pleasure (engrossed in self-interest). I like to think of it as a person who is "automatically hedonistic" in their outlook and behavior.

At least two lessons here. First, God doesn't want us to appoint just anyone to leadership. Secondly, if things aren't going so well as a leader, maybe we ought to check and see if we have crossed one of these leadership lines and guardrails.

Just Thinkin'

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