"And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:27-28).
Leaders are givers. If you can give, you will invariably be able to lead. But if you are not liberal at heart, and you are not willing to
earnestly beseech the Lord for the grace of liberality, please don't go near the corridors of leadership. Whether in the church, in
business, politics or in the home, the grace to be able to look away from yourself and be concerned about meeting the needs of others is an indispensable asset in leadership. Indeed, at the end of the day, good and effective leadership - servant leadership - is all about meeting the needs of the followership both directly and indirectly.
If you occupy a leadership position and you do not excel in the grace of liberality, your influence as a leader will be severely curtailed.
Selfishness destroys leadership effectiveness. Every leader's popularity rating will rise or fall in proportion to his level of liberality and how well his policies enhance the capacity of the people he leads to meet their needs. Good leaders give and help their followers to get; bad leaders take from the followers and diminish the capacity of the people to get. Leadership is about giving not about getting.
Jesus, the ultimate leader was also the ultimate giver. We first saw Him giving up the glories, splendour and pleasures of heaven to come live on the earth. He did that not because of Himself but because of
humanity. While here on the earth, He kept on giving - His time, His energy and material resources in the service of man. He gave sight to the blind, healing to the sick, freedom to the oppressed, life to the
dead, and food to the hungry. He gave and gave until He gave everything, even the last drop of His blood. He gave His life and died
so that we may live. The least you and I can do is to live that others might live.
David the king of Israel giving abundantly for the proposed temple building. And then his officials and other leaders in the nation followed the example of the king. The moment that happened, the rest of the populace became inspired and they joined in the liberality festival, giving willingly of their substances for the house of God. Just as David confessed, good leaders realise that all that they are and all that they have
gained through the privileged position they occupy have come from God, the ultimate owner and giver of all things. It is that realisation among other things that propel them to be generous towards others and
towards every good cause, especially as it concerns the work of God.
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