“Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.”” (Matthew 2:7–8, HCSB)
Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him. Have you ever wondered who around you really is a servant leader? Has it ever bothered you that there are often a lot of people on the team and yet, only a handful of people are doing the work?
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the work will be done by 20% of the people. And, while this is unfortunate, it is all too often accurate. You see, when the standards are low, everyone pretends to be important and involved. However, reality shines through, no matter what people profess.
Herod here in our passage feigns devotion. However, as the account unfolds, we discover that his only interest is to eliminate the competition to his throne. He’s a pretender. And, if we investigate the scenario a little, we will discover how to unmask the actors when it comes to servant leadership.
Now, before we do that, some will ask, “Should we be unmasking these people? Isn’t that judging them?”And the answer is, “We all inspect fruit before we buy it at the grocery store or the fruit stand. Putting people into leadership over God’s people is so much more important than buying apples and oranges, isn’t it?”
And so, how do we discern who is a genuine servant leader? Herod shows us how to do this in his response. He said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.”
Herod was unwilling to go and look. He was too busy to go see the new king. A dead giveaway to pretenders is their unwillingness to get involved. They want you to do it and report back with the result (usually to take credit for them).
Not adding fake followers to your leadership team prevents a world of hurt in the long run. Avoid the pain by being discerning!
Willing Worker Wednesdays are dedicated to explaining the core realities of servant leadership – the Biblical principles and methods used by God’s faithful people throughout time. They further reflect the lifestyle of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords as He walked on this earth announcing the Kingdom of God had arrived. These brief lessons are written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and come from his extensive ministry within the local church, in higher education, in church consulting and as a Biblical author and leader. He welcomes your comments below.
