Servant / Leader

MON., MAY 7, 1984, 6:31 AM
FARM, STUDY

You are back from your eventful journey with much to do in these two weeks before you journey again… including, of course, the production of Ruminations I have asked for. With finals and other demands on time it shall certainly be a busy time. Do not forget the people you met (several of whom I sent to you) in Minnesota. Janine is a particularly advanced young soul, with whom you should stay in contact.

Yes, o son, the question that was posed last night is a simple one, with a simple answer. Is there one God, with many masks, guises, or messages to humans? Yes… and… No. Yes, simply, I am One, and no other force comes close to matching the influence I have in the earth and in other planes of being. And… No, simply, I am as I am manifested… Christianity is not just a mask, but a reality that is yours to uphold. You are to tell a story of reality, not of masks and interpretations. Simple, is it not?

Let’s finally get to the title I have posed for this morning’s meditation, which is equally simple. I call upon you to be a servant. I call upon you to be a leader. Yes, both at the same time. You are both a saint and a sinner, which is much more a matter of faithfulness than it is of acts which are saintly or sinful. Being both servant and leader is also a matter of feeling what I would have you be, and being faithful to what you know I would have you do.

I do not yet plans for you to be a leader in any structured, official way. You shall not be president or chairman of organizations or programs (though it is possible for this school health committee… you could manage that), but you must feel the need to provide leadership. You can give direction, and you can stimulate motivation. You can speak, and you can write. But, crucially, you can simply be who you are… My special servant… and that will be perceived as leadership. And it shall be, in the best spiritual sense.

A servant is one who does what others want and who does tasks that are often mean and lowly. You can recognize needs in people. Simply set out to fulfill these. You do enough tasks that are of low esteem, but you do not yet appreciate the beauty of these. Example: you fixed the pasture fence yesterday, and while you did not moan and feel sorry for yourself, you did not feel the beauty of this servant-type job. You are not far from appreciation, but I must still remind you… and give examples.

Now you also realize that your culture, in its most dominant sense, does not see these two roles as compatible. A leader is one who leads, and part of that leadership is to delegate servant tasks to others… who are not seen as leaders… and taking away servant tasks from those who are seen as potential leaders. Repeatedly I have told you that there is some challenge in being who I want you to be in this culture… and this task of being both leader and servant is one of these.