By Olubunmi Adebayo
*There is a quiet standard that has been established by God over the years and over several past generations for mankind to learn from.*
*This is the standard of raising great leaders through the furnace of free service.*
*Free service entails the act of rendering services without direct attachment of regulated compensations or regimented emoluments.*
*Most great leaders God has raised up, he did so from the furnace of deep seated and heartfelt free service drive.*
*Please consider the following examples to buttress this line of thought :*
*1) MOSES : Our first encounter with Moses in this drive saw him going round the working camp of the Israelites in Egypt trying to pacify them during misunderstandings.*
*Again, as soon as Moses came into the household of Jethro in the land of Midian, he gave his life outrightly to free service, and this was consistently for nothing less than forty years:*
*Exodus 2: [16] Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.*
*[17] _And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock_.*
*[18]And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?*
*[19]And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.*
*[20]And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.*
*[21] And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.*
*The mind of free service in Moses was such that at his recall by God to go back to Egypt, he left almost immediately without any attachment to anything extraordinary that could encumber him :*
*Exodus 3 [1] Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.*
*[2]And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.*
*Moses was greatly committed to the principle of free service, no wonder he was hugely successful as the leader of Israel.*
*2) JACOB : Another good example of a personality raised in free service was Jacob. Everything about Jacob revolved around free service, including in securing his wife :*
*Genesis 29: [15] And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?*
*[16]And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.*
*[17]Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.*
*[18]And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.*
*It takes a man with the mind of free service to say he would work for seven years to marry just one woman, when Isaac got his own wife at just asking within a day of an encounter through the chief servant of Abraham who acted on his behalf, and promto, Rebecca came to Isaac.*
*Not only was Jacob ready to work for seven years in order to marry Rachael, he went ahead to serve for another seven years when Leah was subtly given to him instead of Rachael that was agreed on:*
*Genesis 29:[26] And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.*
*[27]Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.*
*[28]And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.*
*Seven years was like a week to a man with the mentality of free service.*
*Infact Laban arm-twisted the wages of Jacob severally, but because Jacob was not in it exclusively for pecuniary gains, he was able to weather the storm of that period of his life :*
*Genesis 31: [7]And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.*
*[41]Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.*
*If Jacob had lacked the mind of free service, he wouldn’t have been able to pull through the experience.*
*Tomorrow God willing, we shall conclude on this.*
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
