Our family plays a great game at the dinner table called “Would You Rather.” We ask questions such as, “Would you rather win a World Series or a Super Bowl?”

Once, I decided to ask my three kids the following question: “Would you rather be a great leader or a great servant?” My 10-year-old daughter immediately replied, “Dad, they’re the same thing. If you serve someone, you are showing and teaching someone what Jesus would do!” Wow! She nailed it. In God’s eyes, a great servant is always a great leader, but a great leader is not necessarily a great servant.

In the arena of competition, whether playing or coaching, we must understand what it means to be a great servant. Being a great servant in the athletic world does not mean serving others in order to become a great leader; rather, it means sacrificing and dying to self. This is difficult—it means putting the interests of my teammates first, both on and off the field. It means having an attitude like Christ’s as I place their needs before my own.

As competitors, we need to realize that this battle to lead or to serve rages every day.