Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45 (NIV)
It was his last days before he was to face the cross head on. He was trying to share some last lessons with the disciples. Important lessons. Things they needed to remember. But, they were distracted.
What were they distracted with? They were distracted with who was going to be most important in his kingdom. They were jockeying to see who would rule. I would scoff at this and say "Really?" but I can't. Because I look around our world and I look at myself in the mirror and my brain still goes to this same place. As much as I hate it, those thoughts still pop into my head. What was Jesus' response?
Not so with you.
No matter what the world is doing, no matter how important you think it is to be important, you need to be different.
Jesus, Savior of the World, came as a servant. That is our model. Feeling like we've done something important or great; that is not what matters. What matters is did we point to Jesus enough. Does what we are doing cause people to reflect on him alone.
Not so with you. I need to repeat this to myself over and over again.
Jesus, make me different. Amen