Tuesday, January 23, 2024

day no. 16,528: servant lordship > servant leadership

Genesis 2:18
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Servant Leadership (registered trademark) calls the man to be his wife's helper. He is a "real man," in other words, only when he isn't.

Servant Lordship calls the man to be his wife's head. He is a "real man" only when he acts like one.

God gave man a mission and a mate, but He did not give the man the option to make her his mission. He can pursue her as a side story, but not as the main plot.

1 Corinthians 11:3
I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

A husband is the head of his house. This is inescapable. It is an inexorable fact. The only question is: is he a good head of his house or a bad one? Is he leading well or not so well? But either way, he will lead. He has not been given any choice in that matter. If he abdicates, his failure leads. If he abandons the post, his abandonment dominates what's left. An empty chair at the dinner table carries all the weight. A man's absence is always present.

Genesis 2:21-22
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Man was made from the earth and for the earth.
Woman was made from man and for the man.

1 Corinthians 11:7-9
[The man] is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

Man is the glory of God. Woman is the glory of man. So, woman is the glory of the glory of God and man is the head that the Head has chosen.

John 13:13-17
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Christ did not cease being their Lord or Teacher when He stooped to serve them. His service was magnified by the very fact that He WAS their Lord and Teacher. If He had forfeited His office of Master in order to serve, He would have been just another servant serving. Christ provided an example, however, of being a Master and a Servant simultaneously. Men are called to follow this example. If you know this, do this. Christ commanded His disciples to obey His example: Servant Lordship. He did not give up the right to lead by giving up his outer garments to serve.

Just as meekness is strength under authority, service is leadership in the midst. You cannot be meek if you are not strong. If you merely under authority, you are not necessarily meek. The weak are under authority, but they have no say in the matter. It is not to their credit. Similarly, you cannot be a servant leader without leading. If you are serving, you are not necessarily leading out. You might even be the first to serve, but that doesn't make you a master. Servants must serve, but they have no say in the matter. It is not to their credit if they do. They aren't stooping, they are doing their duty.

Men were made to be lords. They do not serve women by forfeiting their lordship, but they love them well by retaining their lordliness while serving them.

No comments:

Post a Comment