Win on Earth or Serve Like Jesus?

John 20:25-28

“But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.  It shall not be so among you.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'”

December 21, 2021

Growing up, my brother and I shared a room. He liked Garfield cartoon strips. I liked Mickey Mouse. I am pretty sure that bother were on our bedroom door. Yet, the only one I remember is a Garfield poster I remember it because it had a mansion and a Lamborghini on it . . . both of which I wanted. I have frown much since then. My taste has changed and my cars . . . well, to drive a nice car from time to time is fine, but I live by the motto, “functionality over fashion.” I would rather have a car that I can use for any purpose than to be afraid that I am going to get a scratch on it. All of this is beside the point. The poster had Garfield in the front of the the mansion and car saying, “He who has the most toys wins!”

The passage above is Jesus responding to the request from either James and John or from their mother (it depends on the gospel account you are reading as to which is portrayed). The request is to let James and John sit on either side of Jesus in His kingdom. This would place them as rulers (somewhat like Haman’s position under Artaxerxes or Joseph’s under Pharaoh), having authority and special access to Jesus all of the time. They (or she) wanted James and John to be the “winners” of the group. This caused a bit of a quarrel between the disciples, because . . . I mean . . . who would not want to be next to Jesus in His kingdom?

Jesus responds to the entire group, calming down tensions. All of them want to have authority. Unfortunately, they do not realize what gives them the most authority is to serve others. When you serve others, you wind up listening to them. You often will gain an audience with them, in that they will sometimes listen to your advice. But most of all, you are reflecting Jesus to the person you are serving. He served everyone, even the least individuals, which raised Him up in their eyes.

As we can often see through our political leaders, people love to have a big name, expecting the best seats and service. Yet, they seemingly do not care that the opinion people hold of them is often low, because they carry an air of superiority about them. Serving others offers the demeanor of considering others equal . . . worthy of your time and effort, which makes the person you are serving feel valued. Which attitude do you carry? Do you want the most “toys” so that you can win on earth? Or do you want to serve like Jesus and build up treasure in Heaven?