Sunday, October 5, 2014

"Servant-Minded" Courage and Strength

In work and in all places in life we desire to be strong and courageous and to exhibit that. This is not a bad thing as the Bible says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (ESV).

Being strong and confident doesn't mean constantly pointing out what's wrong with other people's likes and dislikes. Sometimes a person may feel strong when finding ways they'd like to change others and expressing it. If the purpose behind telling someone you don't agree is not love, it is not good (Corinthians 13). Love respects people—which includes acknowledging and being okay with the fact that people are different in what they like and dislike.

Strength and courage are shown and done the best when they're more viewed in the mindset of a "servant"—meaning that the action is likely to help in some way. It could help one's self because each of us are in Christ and we are not our own—so we should take care of ourselves. But of course it can and often should help others in some way as one of the results.

There have been books on being a "servant leader," which is a similar concept. But really I think this "servant mentality" of loving and not being prideful can apply even when we are not leaders.

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