The Greatest
by Andy White"
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
(Mark 10:42-45)
Boxing Legend Mohammed Ali used to refer to himself as, "The Greatest" Back in the 70’s a movie about Ali was made and it was entitled, "The Greatest". Perhaps, some of you might remember Ali’s little ditty that he used to sing – "I’m the greatest. I’m Mohammed Ali. I float like a butterfly but I sting like a bee!"
Then in the early 90’s there was another boxer named Riddick Bowe – His commercial jingle went, "I’m Riddick Bowe, some compare me to the greatest: Ali – But I hit like a truck, he just stung like a bee."
Greatness in this world’s system is often shown off to be the flamboyant, the glitzy and the loud, or the glitter and the gaudy! To be "great" in this world often means to be recognized as the one who’s made it to the top. In the world, "the greatest" are usually those that can…
… punch the hardest…sing the sweetest….run the fastest, or, jump the highest. (Sometimes, it’s simply who can…. shout the loudest!)
And oftentimes, unfortunately, The "Great" ones of this world are often those who have used other people to advance themselves. They are those who have "lorded" themselves over others. They’ve often exploited others to gain their money, their fame, their success and their prominence – all to the satisfying of personal ego.
The World’s standard and measurement of "greatness" is a vastly different unit of measurement from the Kingdom’s!
(1 Cor 1:26) For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
The "great ones" in the world do a lot of "glorying" in their achievements. The "great ones" of the world will boast and "mouth off" their greatness. The "great ones’ of the world will lord themselves. Yet, it shall not be so among us!
(Mark 10:43)
The Road of Greatness in the kingdom …is Serving
An old sage by the name of T.W. Manson said, "In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping stone to nobility; it is nobility. The only kind of nobility that is recognized."
Jesus Said, "…Whoever desires to become great…"
The desire to be great in the kingdom is good. Jesus didn’t upbraid His disciples for wanting to be great, but He did teach them that His ways are not this world’s ways! We should desire to be great in the kingdom. We should desire to exemplify the greatness of our God! Our families should be "great"! Our church should be "great"! Our ministries should be "great"! Not for the sake of man’s accolades, but to show forth and declare that we serve a great God! We want others to see His greatness!
To want to be good at something is a God - given desire. God created the heavens and the earth and said it was good. Everything God does He s does with excellence. We’re created in the image and likeness of God – He’s given to man a natural desire to do things creatively and well. The things that we do – we should want to do with a spirit of excellence, with a desire that say’s, "I want it to be done good." The point is, how we do it is not the way the world does it.
The desire to be great in the world is often motivated by pride and ego and a desire to please self.
However, in the kingdom it is to be motivated by a servant’s heart to please the Lord.
Since God opposes the proud – I believe one way he purifies our desire for greatness is to cause us to humble ourselves and take on a servant’s heart.
Christians often like to talk about humble servant-hood – but selfishness often guide’s much of our thinking and behavior. However, it is when we really take on the attitude of a servant that we begin to purify our motives. Someone once asked, "How do you know if you have a servant’s heart?" By the way you respond when you’re treated like one!
The heart-attitude of a servant is one that serves without needing recognition from others. It serves without grumbling or complaining. It serves without expecting anything in return.
A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servant’s overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants.
Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world’s most famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.
When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps the episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant’s heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.
What is the heart of true "ministry"? What is the character of godly ministry?
What is the key to true greatness in your life?
Simply put…It’s to have a servant’s heart!