What does it mean to be great? "be served" or "to serve"
Matthew 20:26 “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”
It doesn’t take us long to live in our world and have some notion of what greatness is within our society. Greatness is defined by popularity, money, status, being on top; at its very core it is about having others serve you. If you are in a position where people throughout the day serve you (office, restaurant, home, fitness club, hair salon) then you are great and the more people that serve you the “greater” you are; this is how our society works. It is so easy for us to get caught in this desire to be “great” according to the world and at times we are all pulled into this trap of self indulgence. At the core of our worlds greatness is a deep infection of selfishness; it is the disease of self; it stands completely opposite the life that Jesus displays and calls His followers to live. All to often we find ourselves like the disciples in the text wanting to be the greatest and often this is done within the church in the name of ministry. May we not be fooled into disguising our sin in the name of following Jesus but may we be open to hearing these words this morning that will change the way we see the world. Jesus points to a different way of living and being; its as if Jesus says that being great according to Him is serving others; according to Jesus, serving others is a better way of life then being great by the worlds standards. Its hard for me to grasp hold of how my own personal service and sacrifice for others could be a better life then having others serve and sacrifice for me. Perhaps my disease of sin seeks to block me from seeing the greater truth. However, this verse exposes that deception and teaches me that whether I understand it or not; being great in the Kingdom of God is about serving others and that way of life is the best possible way to live. Perhaps when I put this way of life into action, I begin to experience what Jesus is teaching. Perhaps the only way to really believe that serving others is more fulfilling then being served by others is to live it and experience it; it is not an ideal I can articulate but it must be a shift of the paradigm of life that only comes by putting it into practice.
Lord, thank you today for exposing the lies of my world, thank you for confronting this way of life that is rooted in the sin of our selfishness. God, pour your grace upon me today that it may change my world view. Help me to see through the eyes of a servant and not through the eyes of one who desires to be served. Put in front of me opportunities for me to serve others today that they may experience your love and grace. Protect me from being manipulated into thinking that greatness has to do with me, but help me to know deep in my being that greatness is about modeling your way of life. Give me chances to live the life of service today that I may experience a deeper truth and a deeper satisfaction that cannot come from the rules of the world but can only come from being in relationship with you. Amen!!!
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