“Whoever
Wishes To Be Great
Among You Must Be Your Servant”
Then the mother of the sons of
Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor
of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that
these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left,
in your kingdom.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are
you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are
able.” He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right
hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it
has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard it, they were
angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know
that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are
tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great
among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must
be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:20-28
What does it take to disrupt the
good work of a church? Just one power-hungry person.
Church membership can grow because of the efforts of a minister. The problem
can arise when a person in a leadership position begins to envy the pastor’s
influence. That person may believe they deserve more power, and that person may
then try to tear down the pastor. With people like this, they don’t seem to
care how that affects God’s work, they just want power
and recognition.
When it comes to serving Christ,
we have no right to seek power. We have no calling for prestige. We have no
reason to seek recognition. It is much better to serve quietly in the
background and remember that Jesus Himself came to serve, and not to be served.
Are you a pastor? A teacher or a deacon? Maybe you are a missionary or a
church member. If you look for power, you may get it, but it will become power
that disrupts the good work of your church ministry.
We lose the approval of God
when
we seek the applause of men.
Our Daily Bread –