T.S. Eliot once wrote,
“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them …or they do not see it, or they justify it … because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.”
This is true not only in the secular world but also in the leadership of the Church. As I attempt to write, I say with the Apostle:”Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor.2: 16). Self-absortion in leadership is dangerous for the life of the people that are following us. A ministry that is done in the power of the flesh will bear the mark of its origin.
One famous pastor humbly confessed:
“Narcissism is the adulation of the self, the diminishment of others, and often expressed as reckless ambition. Nothing could be more inconsistent with the character of Christ—the self-sacrificing servant who sought only to do the will of his Father. How can I be a pastor, a servant of Christ, and struggle with this?”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6: 40). This is scary! Can a spiritually blind leader lead the blind? A disciple will look very much like his teacher. One who is mentored will be as good as the one who mentors. Which means, he might talk, act, preach almost like the mentor. ”That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3: 6). The “flesh” in the Scriptures is often used to denote the “sinful propensities and passions of our nature.” But the good news is: A ministry done in the power and strength of the Spirit will also bear the mark of its origin.
This is why Scripture encourages us to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5: 16). Leaders have to embrace & embody this sobering truth throughout our lives that “apart from [Christ we] can do nothing” (John 15: 5). This needs to be modeled in our lives (not just be intellectually informed by the truth). Western individualism & pragmatism teaches, “Yes we can!” in contrast to what Christ teaches! Hence we have learned to do much apart from Christ! We have almost educated ourselves to imbecility. Always learning, yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. As C.S Lewis astutely said, “Education seems to have made man a little more clever devil.” We are called to die to ourselves (Gal.2: 20) and say with Paul:
“I count everything [including my profession] as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things [including education etc] and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3: 8).
The self is our greatest enemy, not the devil. We are not called to make disciples that look like us, but Christ. ”Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11: 1).