Humility 83
THELEADER ASSERVANT
In the past few years, much has been written about the ‘‘servant leader’’
who inspires others and achieves great goals not by ‘‘lording it over
others’’ but rather by serving them. But the ‘‘servant leader’’ is not a
new phenomenon; its origins date back to Bible.
While Jesus is the best-known servant leader, the concept predates
him by almost 1,000 years. In 1 Kings 12, King Rehoboam, who has
just ascended to the throne of Israel, is faced with a dilemma—how to
motivate the people of Israel to follow him so that he can continue the
great legacy of achievement accomplished by his father, Solomon. His
followers petition him: ‘‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now
lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will
serve you.’’
Like any wise executive, Rehoboam enlists the aid of a consulting
team: He asks the elders who had served his father how he should an-
swer the petition. Their advice: ‘‘If today you will be a servant to these
people and serve them... they will always be your servants.’’
In his arrogance, Rehoboam decides to ignore this advice. Instead,
he replies, ‘‘My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heav-
ier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpi-
ons.’’ Rehoboam’s stubborn pride and cruelty made him the ultimate
‘‘Theory X’’ manager, even for biblical times. His ‘‘results’’? The people
of Israel stoned to death the manager whom Rehoboam had appointed
to supervise their forced labor, and Rehoboam himself had to flee from
Jerusalem in his chariot to escape death. The people repudiated him and
made his rival, Jereboam, the king over all Israel.
Perhaps it takes someone not born into royalty to fully embrace ser-
vant leadership. Such a man was Jesus, who was born in a manger and
whose only crown was the crown of thorns. Such a man could not only
preach servant leadership, he could practice it, and his practice inspired
his followers to do likewise.
For example, the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples came to him and
asked that they be given a ‘‘privileged place’’ at his table: ‘‘Grant that
one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at