What Comes To Mind When You Think Of Greatness?

Most of the time when we think of greatness, we tend to think of people who are extremely successful. We think of the people of power and wealth in the world like celebrities or political leaders. Or maybe if you are a sports fan, you think of the strongest and fastest athletes with the most championships. Sure, some of these things are quite impressive, but what does it mean to be truly great?

After seeing two of his disciples’ desire to become great, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:25-28) 

So here, Jesus is telling his disciples to look at what the world does. Society has one view of what greatness is, but Jesus has another. He says that the greatest among us is the one who serves. So does this mean that we should all aspire to vocations that involve serving like cleaning, cooking, waiting tables, etc…? I don’t think so, though there is nothing wrong with those jobs. I think what Jesus is saying is that having power and prestige doesn’t give you the right to lord it over people. If you are the CEO of a billion dollar business, in God’s eyes you are no greater than the janitor who cleans your toilet. Instead of lording your power over others, a truly great leader will be willing to serve and put others before himself or herself.

So practically, what does that look like? Jesus answers this too by the way he led and served his followers and set the example for them over and over during his ministry. He not only taught them about God, but he was willing to help those in need and heal the diseases of untouchable people. He also demonstrated servant leadership by teaching his disciples, washing their feet, serving them bread and wine in the last supper, and as the passage says… he gave “his life as a ransom” for them.

In the view of the world, I’m probably not seen as someone who is great or extremely successful by most.  But no matter how successful you or I are… we still aren’t God. Jesus was fully man and fully God, yet he came to serve and to give his life for us. He didn’t have to, need to, or I’m sure want to go through what he did, but he did it because at the center of his service was love and a desire for us to know God. May we seek to be great by following Jesus’ example and lead others through service and love.