If we hope to carry the mantle of godly leadership, then we must always walk with an “others” sort of focus. After all, God tells us in Mark 12:30-31 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
In the last blog, I shared how Naomi showed an “others” focus in how she encouraged Ruth to pursue her dreams; today’s passage teaches a great deal about how godly leaders carry this focus as well.
In Genesis 24 we find an aging Abraham with a dying request pertaining to his son Isaac and his future wife. The text tells us that Abraham had one of his servants swear an oath that he would find a wife for Isaac from Abraham’s homeland.
As the story continues, the servant makes his way to Nahor and asks God for guidance as to which woman he should pick; specifically, he prayed for God to send him a woman who would add value to his life, as such a woman would surely bless Abraham’s son Isaac as well.
The servant prayed: “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
Shortly after the servant prayed, Rebekah came to the well and did exactly as the servant said. She went the extra mile in taking care of the servant and his camels; she chose to be someone who would add value beyond what was asked of her.
Rebekah chose to be generous with what she had, and, because of that generosity, God blessed her by bringing her into Abraham’s family, the very family of God.
You see, godly leaders don’t keep score. They give, and give, and give, because adding value to others is living out the second greatest commandment. By doing so, we are in our very nature being godly!
As John Maxwell says, the Rebekah principle teaches us that we will become what we are becoming right now. If you want to be a person that other people value, then be a person who adds value to others, and watch the multiplied returns that come back to you.
If you are looking for a way to add value to others, we would love for you to consider taking part in our “Gift The Bible” campaign. Our team was on the ground in Guatemala the day after the Fuego Volcano erupted and the devastation was real. We are going back in a few weeks and we’d love your help in bringing free Bibles to hand out.
For more information on how you can get involved, visit www.giftthebible.com.
NKJV, Maxwell Leadership Bible
Bestselling author John C. Maxwell’s signature leadership principles are drawn straight from the Bible. This 3rd Edition of the Maxwell Leadership Bible brings those lessons together with the Scriptures, including brand new inspiring content, and a new a full-color redesign featuring NKJV Comfort Print.
Terence Chatmon
Terence Chatmon serves as president of EQUIP and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, which mobilizes Christian leaders around the world to share the transforming power of the Gospel. Before this role, he was president and CEO of another global non-profit, and he also held a number of senior executive leadership roles in large enterprises including The Coca-Cola Company, Johnson & Johnson and Citicorp.
