THE ROLE LEADERSHIP PLAYS IN THE HOME - Part 2

                                                      

Last week I started a blog series entitled “The Role Leadership Plays In The Home”.  I wrote the blog to share with husbands and wives, and parents that it takes leadership to have a successful home.  We looked at Dr. John C. Maxwell’s book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, and talked about “The Law of The Lid”.  The Law of The Lid says, “Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness.”  As a leader our leadership ability (good or bad) will determine our level of effectiveness (positive or negative) whether people will be influenced enough to follow us.  We must be able to lead ourselves before we can lead others even in the home, and when people see it they will be willing to trust our leadership.  Another aspect of leadership comes from the perspective of serving individuals that we lead in our marriage and family. Today we want to look at the role of leadership in the home as husbands and wives serve each other, and as parents serve their children.

Again we want to look at what Dr. John C. Maxwell says about leadership that can be applied to marriage and family relationships.  In the book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, he talks about another law called “The Law of Addition”.  The Law of Addition means “Leaders Add Value by Serving Others.”  He goes on to say, “When you add value to people, you lift them up, help them advance, make them a part of something bigger than themselves, and assist them in becoming who they were made to be”.   In other words, leaders add value to the people they are leading by serving and helping them to become a better person, instead of looking to be served.

When we talk about leaders serving their followers, we are referring to leaders being servant leaders.  A servant leader is someone who serves those that he or she leads out of love, who meets the needs of individuals they’re serving instead of being served, is an example to the people they’re leading, and values the growth of the people they’re leading so they can in turn lead and serve others. When we look at being a servant leader, we must focus on the biblical principle of servanthood that is seen through the life of Jesus.  In Mark 10:45 it says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be serve but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus gives us the example of how we should lead others, which is to serve them in order to help meet their needs.   Jesus didn’t come to be served, but he came to serve others even to the point of sacrificing his own life. As husbands we are to serve our wives and children with all our energy and life, especially as the head of the home.  Wives you are to serve your husband and children with all your heart and strength.  Parents we are servant leaders in the home, and even though we are the authority figures in our children’s lives, we are still to serve them until they live on their own. 

As servant leaders in our home, my wife and I try to serve each other as well as our children.  As a husband, I try to add value to my wife and children by lovingly serving them through my actions.  Every Saturday morning I try to fix breakfast for my family.  When my wife needs a break from doing certain things, I try to serve her by taking on something that she usually does to give her a break.  My wife does the same thing for me by serving me in a way that adds value to my life.  She will serve me by taking our daughter to the subway station to go to school, in order to give me a break so I can get some rest.  The key is we don’t take one another for granted, expecting the other to do something because of their position in the home as husband or wife. 

We work together as a team because we want to help each other to become better.  That’s servant leadership in demonstration, where you serve your spouse or children to add value to them, instead of waiting or expecting them to serve you.  As married couples and parents, you are servant leaders in your home, placed there to add value and serve the individuals in your marriage or family.   Take time out to look for every opportunity to add value by serving your spouse or children, and when you do it genuinely out of a pure heart, God will bless you greatly. 

Would love to hear your thoughts, questions, or feedback.