Jesus sat at a table with his 12 disciples for supper. Judas already set in his heart to betray Jesus and Jesus knew what was to come. Yet, Jesus had this last opportunity to teach incredible lessons on leadership. His first lesson would be service; specifically, serving where there is a need.
Jesus got up from the table, stripped himself of his clothes, and then covered himself with a towel to illustrate that leaders are the greatest servers. He then began to wash his disciples feet, including Judas, fully knowing he was about to betray him.
Jesus didn’t ask Judas to step aside until they had a conversation. He didn’t share with the other disciples what was going to happen in an attempt to alienate Judas from the others. Jesus served Judas despite his upcoming betrayal.
For those who have a ministry/organization/group they lead:
Maybe there is someone in a group you lead that you don’t trust; someone that you know would betray you in a heartbeat. Serve them anyway and don’t speak ill of them to others. Yes, I know that later on at the table, Jesus pointed out that someone in their midst would betray him. However, Jesus didn’t encourage the other disciples to stay away from Judas. And Jesus gave Judas the freedom to leave to betray him – Jesus didn’t try to stop him.
- Serve the need, regardless of your trust level
- Don’t speak ill of the person with others in your organization
- Offer them the freedom to walk away. Don’t try to control them. Just love them. Love offers freedom.
Thank you, Andrea John for this deep truth. ❤️
The Journey with Andrea 