The owner of a small business called for a meeting with all his employees. He complained that despite being the owner and boss he wasn't getting the respect that was due his position. To rectify the situation he explained that he had gone to a local sign shop that morning and purchased a small sign that read, "I'm the boss." He had then placed the sign on his office door. But to his chagrin when he returned to his office after lunch there was another sign on his office door that read, "Your wife called, and she wants her sign back!"
It seems sometimes that everyone wants to be the boss, to be in control, to be looked up to and respected. Few want to be the ones who obey and respect others in positions of responsibility and authority. Jesus understands this attitude and calls us to a different mind set. He said...
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - (Mt. 20:25-28).
Are you concerned that others respect you and be aware that you're the boss? That attitude can be destructive to relationships and one's own rise to greatness. It's not the spirit that most seek, but it's the one that Jesus says is the hallmark of true greatness - the spirit of servanthood. He would have us be more concerned about serving than being the boss.
By the way, God wants His sign back.
Lonnie Ritchie