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Key Bible Verse: He sat down, called the 12 disciples over to him, and said, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." (Mark 9:35) Dig Deeper: Mark 9:33-37

There was quite a bit of interest among the disciples about which one was greatest, so much so that an argument broke out. [See Dig Deeper.] Each disciple wanted to be greater than the others, and they sought some kind of metric with which to prove their supremacy.

Maybe they employed the kind of thinking that fuels leaders who are climbing toward greatness today: think big, turn your setbacks into comebacks, put yourself at the center of the action. This is the kind of thinking that gets rewarded, and there were likely some first-century versions of these sayings that military leaders or successful merchants employed to achieve dominance. But things that can move companies and commanders from good to great didn't appear on Jesus' list of what will make you great in his kingdom. In fact, he turned the whole idea of the greatness pursuit on its head in [today's Key Bible Verse].

Rather than holding up political, religious, or commercial leaders as pictures of greatness, Jesus encourages us to model ourselves after children. [See also Luke 18:15-17.] If that's not a call to downward mobility in a culture intoxicated with wealth, power, or fame, I'm not sure what is.

—Scott Bessenecker in How to Inherit the Earth

My Response: What step could I take to achieve true greatness—as defined by Jesus?

Thought to Apply: We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.—Rabindranath Tagore (Indian writer)

Adapted from How to Inherit the Earth (InterVarsity, 2009) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Prayer for the Week

Father in heaven, forgive me for the times I have bought into the values that govern this world; help me to commit myself to values that are eternal.

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