Whose Feet Have You Been Washing Lately
Written by Bethany Lethbridge
Leadership is part of life. It is something that happens to us all. Even my daughter, who is two years old, is a leader to her younger brother. It is how we use the influence we have been given, how we exert the authority that has been placed on us, that determines the type of leader we are: one who washes the feet of others or one whose feet are washed by others.
Leadership is incredibly humbling. It is a refining process in which we have to constantly die to self, for we have not been placed in positions of leadership to serve ourselves, but others. It is when we forget this basic principle that problems arise.
Motherhood, for example, has been a very enriching, fulfilling, and joyous experience. I thank the Lord each day for blessing me with wonderful children that I have the privilege of raising. However, it is not always easy. It involves sleepless nights, continually putting others before myself, and many other menial tasks that often seem to go unnoticed. The moment I begin to expect those that I am serving to serve me, to meet my needs, to applaud my efforts, is when discontentment and resentment can settle in. It is at those times I need to remember what is written in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Leadership is about serving others rather than ourselves. When we remember that truth and live it out, we are living in the sweet spot where leading is not a burden, but rather a blessing.
As Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:13-17,
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” And also in Mark 9:35, “And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.’”
Biblical leadership that is honouring to God is all about having a servant’s heart. It is about meeting the needs of others, carrying their burdens, and washing their feet.
