I Want to be Great
I
hate conventionality, although I would probably be the first in line to conform
to the newest fad or trend. I have to keep up with the best of them, stay tuned
in, be in the loop, can’t be left behind. More than that I want to be the
beginning of the loop, I want to be where it all starts, the first in
everything. Then I could lead and conform all at the same time. No worry about
giving in and jumping on the bandwagon because I’ll be the one driving it.
Popularity and influence exists within the status-quo. Swim along with the
current and face forward just like everybody else and then you might make it to
the front of the crowd.
So
that’s how leaders are born, they mold conformity to their own personal agenda.
The status-quo treats them well and they reap the benefits of their popularity
and influence by perpetuating the fads and trends, manipulating the crowd’s
desires and temptations. Or so it would seem. They maintain their leadership
because they are hardwired for greatness, we all are. Power, greatness,
influence, popularity, creativity, and ingenuity are all good things, right?
Moses provides context for these traits when he describes the planting of the
seed of greatness in Genesis. In Genesis 1 after God create humankind, both man
and woman, He blessed them. He said to them to “be
fruitful,” “fill the earth,” and to “rule.” Here, God endows the human race with
the desire to be great, a desire which will motivate them to create, as He did,
to be productive, and to have purpose.
We
are all wired for greatness, for leadership. We are all leaders at some point,
in some area whether we believe it or not. However, if the majority of us
conform then how can we possibly fulfill this blessing that has endowed us to
greatness? We live in a suspension between conformity and greatness. We want
greatness but can we possess it without influence and popularity? Sometimes I
wonder what if it is possible.
Who Shall Follow?
Then
a man steps out onto humanity’s stage. His posture is poised, regal as if he was
raised leading people and giving orders. Yet, there is a gentleness and
humbleness in his eyes, in his graceful smile. His voice has the authority of a
thousand kings but his words are sweet, full of hope. He quiets the tension in
our hearts by showing us that to be a leader is to be a servant. He is an
example of greatness bending down to lend a hand to those who have been crushed
by the coursing river of privilege. For a moment he ceased all movement and the
status-quo was torn down. It all came crumbling down the day Christ rose from
the dead and the status-quo has never possessed the same power it once
enjoyed.
Christ
showed us that we can be a part of something great by breaking down every
expectation, by reversing the status-quo, and by changing lives. This change
comes through service to others, to those who do not have a voice or say, to the
innocent, and underprivileged. God needs us to be the fruitful leaders He
designed us to be in order to re-make the kingdom of heaven on earth. God helps
us achieve our potential by giving Jesus as our frame of reference and the Holy
Spirit as our guide and strength. The history of the Church begins in Acts 1
when the Holy Spirit in poured out onto the believers. By chapter 2 everyone,
man and woman, son and daughter, are prophesying; they are speaking and leading.
Not just the guys who were already established as the head-honcho, but everybody. Everything about the set up of the Church and
its purpose reverses any idea we, as a race, had of leadership, what it means to
lead. Being a follower of Christ is to be a leader among men and women. To lead
is to serve, to love and be loved is to sacrifice.
Let Love Lead
We
are already so much more powerful without the status-quo, without the popularity
and influence than we originally believed. The Holy Spirit was gifted to our
ancestors in the Church hundreds of years ago. Our greatness as Christians, as a
people, and as individuals comes through our collective ability to take one
man’s faith and change the world. We are great because we are part of something
so much bigger than ourselves.
Even
within our daily lives we lead by showing love and compassion to our friends and
family. It’s in our genetic code; we were hard-wired for compassion, for
leadership, and for greatness. Let love inspire you to lead and let the source
of that love come from the man who died for humanity. Let greatness inspire you
to become part of the global church family that embraces the world with
compassionate hands. Let leadership guide you into an identity that was
perfected in the garden; one that continually makes you holy so that every
morning you become great.
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