{"id":1109,"date":"2021-10-20T09:23:55","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T13:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2021-10-20T09:23:55","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T13:23:55","slug":"servanthood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/10\/20\/servanthood\/","title":{"rendered":"Servanthood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It\u2019s possible that Rehoboam, the fourth king of ancient Israel, never saw it coming. 

Who knew that the outcome of his entire reign would come down to one defining moment?

Rehoboam came to the throne upon the death of his father Solomon.  As told in I Kings 12, the people of Israel approach him with a demand: \u201cYour 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.\u201d

Is the crowd raising a legitimate complaint?  Apparently so.  Solomon had worked his own people like slaves.  Resentment is still festering. 

So this is Rehoboam\u2019s opportunity to define his approach to leadership.  What kind of ruler will the new king choose to be? 

His first move is to stall for more time:  \u201cGo away for three days and then come back to me.\u201d  The king decides to consult the elders who had faithfully served his father. \u201cHow would you advise me to answer these people?\u201d  You get the feeling these elders are thrilled to be asked.  \u201cIf today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.\u201d

Note that the word \u201cservant\u201d appears twice in their counsel.  You be a<\/em>servant to them, and they will be servants to you<\/em>. 

That\u2019s the essence of servant leadership.  Jesus was modeling it when he said, \u201cThe Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many\u201d (Mark 10:45).

Given the choice, we\u2019d all love to be managed by a servant leader. 

A servant leader pays close attention to what we need; intentionally invests in our personal development; credits us when our new ideas move things forward; honors us with public thanks and a generous share of the rewards.  Servant leadership isn\u2019t a means of manipulating people \u2013 being good to others so they will be good to us in return.  A servant leader\u2019s bottom line is to serve people for their own sake<\/em>.  The elders of Israel know that if these civilians are treated well, they will almost certainly choose to be loyal subjects. 

But Rehoboam flunks Servant Leadership 101.  He chooses to consult with \u201cthe young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. \u2018What is your advice?  How should we answer these people?\u2019\u201d

Who exactly are these guys?  They appear to be Rehoboam\u2019s frat brothers.  They are his entourage, the young men who haven\u2019t yet had to get a real job, because their job has always been to ensure that Solomon\u2019s number one son feels great about himself.  They are his Yes Men. 

They answer, \u201cTell these people who have said to you, \u2018Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter\u2019 \u2013 tell them, \u2018My little finger is thicker than my father\u2019s waist.  My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier.\u201d

Now, that\u2019s <\/em>how to throw your weight around.  If they don\u2019t like it you just tell them, \u201cKeep up that crying and I\u2019ll give you something to really<\/u><\/em> cry about.\u201d

Rehoboam the immature leader concludes, \u201cIt\u2019s good to be the king.\u201d  He chooses not to serve the people.  And the nation of Israel comes undone, tragically cleaving into rival kingdoms that will never reconcile.

Our defining moments can be more redemptive.  We can be servant parents.  Servant neighbors.  Servant co-workers. 

If you\u2019ve ever wondered how you might make a positive difference over the course of the next 24 hours, choosing to serve the people you meet today is a splendid place to start. 
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It\u2019s possible that Rehoboam, the fourth king of ancient Israel, never saw it coming.  Who knew that the outcome of his entire reign would come down to one defining moment? Rehoboam came to the throne upon the death of his father Solomon.  As told in I Kings 12, the people of Israel approach him with a demand: \u201cYour father put… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[350],"class_list":["post-1109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-servanthood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1111,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109\/revisions\/1111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}