Self-Serving vs. Servant Leaders

The one thing that has been on my mind for the past hour and a half was what I read this morning in my devotional book. The scripture came from 1 Corinthians 4, and the little message in the book talked about how self-serving and servant leaders are different when things happen to them. It keyed in on verse five that says;

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God"

The thought provoking paragraph talked about how self-serving leaders 'react' when something happens to them, and servant leaders 'respond' when something happens to them. My question, 'whats the difference?' Well, I consulted Mr. Webster, and I learned that 'react' has more of a negative connotation, is associated more in terms of physically doing something, and is meant more in terms of opposition. To 'respond', however, has more of a light-hearted association, meaning to correspond, and to answer or reply in a more verbal way. So, to put it in my own words, self-serving leaders lash out in a negative manner when something happens, and servant leaders verbally talk it out.

Which one of  these leaders do you strive to be most like? As children of the living God, we need to strive to be like the servant leaders. We are, after all, servants of Christ, and in that we are also servants of other people - intending to show His perfect love because He first showed it to us. These thoughts hit me hard. There have been some issues I've been dealing with in my heart concerning other people I work with in leadership positions. I realized I have not been 'responding', but 'reacting.' Not physically, but negatively in my thoughts and words. When I read the book and my passage today I just stared at the page. It was a '..wow, God, ..I get it..' moment. It felt like a brick had just smacked me in the face that said; 'self-serving! self-serving!'. But I'm thankful that God forgives, and gives me those moments, so I am able to see my faults and sin. Needless to say, being  a servant leader instead of a self-serving leader will definitely be something to work on in my life.