“Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility].” — Philippians 2:5 (AMP)
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A good point guard sees what’s needed before it’s asked for. A good servant does the same. To have a servant’s heart, you need to follow in the footsteps of the ultimate Servant.
Being that I was a point guard, that is still my favorite position. As you can imagine, when it comes to point guards, I have high standards for what it truly means to be a good one. I am old school — I like a point guard’s point guard (Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Magic Johnson, Chauncey Billups, John Stockton, Isaiah Thomas, and from the new school, Mr. Hali-what, Tyrese Haliburton).
What those guys possess, along with the skills, is they have point-guard feel. They understand every player on the court, knowing their needs and abilities at every point in the game. There are a lot of people who can dribble and bring the ball up the court, hit an open shot and pass, but despite those great skills, they are void of the point-guard spirit and mentality.
I have been blessed to faith-coach a handful of student-athletes at UC Santa Barbara recently. While I wasn’t coaching, I was able to watch the basketball team’s practices. One of the most enjoyable parts was watching Zachiah Clark, their freshman point guard. He is a point guard’s point guard. Along with all the prerequisite skills, he has the feel! At the conclusion of one of our morning Bible studies, I asked him how he was able to develop the feel and spirit needed to play the position properly.
“ZZ” (as he’s called by his teammates) shared that like any other younger brother, he followed his older brother intensely and intimately growing up. His older brother just happens to be Skyy Clark, a decorated point guard who starts for UCLA. ZZ acknowledged that he followed the path of his brother which led to him developing his feel.
No different than a true point guard needs to have a point-guard feel — which is acquired by intensely and intimately following the path of another true point guard — a true servant needs to have a servant’s feel: the heart and spirit that can only be acquired by intensely and intimately following the footsteps of the true Servant.
A player that has point-guard skills but doesn’t follow the path of an established true point guard will be less likely to develop the will and the feel. If we go out into the world and serve without following and being guided by Jesus, our acts of service will be hollow, self-serving and miss the mark.
Peep what Philippians 2:5 (AMP) says: “Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility].” We are to follow the footsteps of Jesus by considering the example of service He set as He served. If we are to follow Jesus’ radical path of service, we will contradict the world’s view on service, which is reactive, whereas Jesus was proactive (John 13, Romans 5:8).
Who are you following closely enough to develop their “feel”? In what ways are you serving reactively instead of proactively? How can you better develop a servant’s heart by watching Jesus? What’s one way you can be more like a point guard in your spiritual leadership?
Lord, help us develop the servant’s feel that only comes from following You closely. Give us eyes to see needs before they become crises. Help us lead like point guards who understand every player on the court. And like ZZ following his brother’s footsteps, may we follow Yours so closely that Your mindset becomes our motivation.
— Nick Graham
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