24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Better to be a goatherd than the GOAT (Greatest of All Time, for those of you new arrivals to 21st century sports). Now I got The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music going as an earwig; great.
In the academic management literature, servant-leadership is a thing. If a manager's job is to get the best out of their team, their job is to make it easier to do their jobs and to serve the needs of their staff. When I taught management classes at Sullivan U, I had to touch on that when the chapter in leadership, and recall citing this passage (or one of the Gospel variants of it) in a secular MBA class.
The shepherd was a lowly position in that era, which made David's ascent from shepherd boy to king all the more striking. Jesus casts himself as the Good Shepherd, caring for His flock. He selflessly offered Himself up as the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, and unlike the "War to End all Wars", we won't need Golgotha II or the threat of Golgotha III.
Leaders are to serve. We get a touch of that in the phrase "public servant" and our better leaders sometimes live up to that; others, not so much. When you cast yourself as the extra-most-bestist person in the room, your ability to serve is severely hampered.
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