I recently read a passage in Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost for His Highest” that rang true for me. Chambers said that we too often get caught up in serving God so much that we fail to seek God’s will for our lives. He goes on to say that one of the greatest dangers in our relationship with God can be our service because we put what we are doing ahead of what God wants done.
Our society is one of getting ahead. We are told it is important to strive to be first team and first chair; to strive to be in the top 10%, the top of the class, to climb the corporate ladder. There are seminars and books and all sorts of efforts to study leadership even going so far that someone wrote a book titled Jesus, CEO. We plan and execute strategy and work to do more and more and more.
Christ didn’t call us to lead, he called us to serve. Maybe we should be studying servanthood instead of leadership. Maybe we should study Mother Teresa instead of Patton; instead of “Jesus, CEO” we should be reading “Jesus, the one who went so far to serve us that He suffered more than we can know because that is what God called Him to do and He came back to life because that is how good God is to those who love Him and do His will.”
God, help me when I try to serve you without seeking you first. Help me remember that the greatest example of who I should be gave His life and went through excruciating pain and agony to make my path better and my future brighter than anything I can do or imagine. Allow me to glorify you even when it’s not easy or convenient or pretty. Allow me to glorify you when I go through pain and turmoil and help me remember that in the times I think you have abandoned me, you are there with me. Use me God. Set me on your path and allow me to do your will.
Grace and peace to you.
WayOutWise 
Jeff,I've never read "Jesus, CEO." In fact, I've never even heard of it. Sounds like an American capitalist may be the author. What's it about?But wasn't Jesus a servant-leader? He certainly came to seek and serve, but there were times where he told his diciples to "Go!" and gave them instructions. MAybe that's just my personal ego reading into how Jesus lead, but I do believe service and leadership can go hand in hand– they must go hand in hand.
I agree with you and may have done a poor job wording it. What was rolling around in the back of my head was that at times, I get caught up in serving where the service becomes about my desire, what I think is the best direction. In my Christian walk that means I get in the habit of serving but leaving God's desire out of the equation. At work it means I get so full of what I want to do that I forget to seek what will help others and allow them to succeed and feel good about the job they are doing. I move from a servant leadership mode to an ego leadership mode or, another way of saying it, I get so blinded by the service I am doing that I can't see the One I am serving.I think Jesus is the perfect model of servant leadership because He sought God's pleasure and satisfaction in everything he did.