“33 Then they came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34 But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, He called the Twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me.”
Mark 9:33-37
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Those wondrous moments of conviction, where we realize that our hearts have been occupied with things that do not honor God, and instead honor self…

Here we find the disciples in the middle of one of those moments that we are all so familiar with, moments we aren’t proud of, but moments that stand as a regular occurrence in the human heart. This isn’t the only time the disciples argued about position and status. This isn’t the only time they wondered aloud or asked about who got to be first, or sit in positions of power in the coming Kingdom. The human heart, with it’s sinful pride, is all too familiar with these impulses and drives.

And so Jesus takes a moment to address their side conversation, just as He does with us today through His Holy Spirit, and He corrects their understanding with the upside-down power structure of the Kingdom of God. There is only One who is to be honored and glorified, and He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross for sins He did not commit. So, if we are grasping for power and position and authority, it’s not necessarily against other people, but against God Himself.

If we are building a kingdom for ourselves apart from His Kingdom, then that is sinful pride at work in us. If we are placing our hearts and dreams and desires above His sovereignty, then we are building a sinful, prideful kingdom for ourselves. If we are placing more trust in what we can build and do for ourselves…you get the idea. We cannot contest with God and honor Him at the same time. We cannot place our desire for recognition over our desire to see God’s fame grow and honor Him at the same time.

His example is humility and that is the example that we need to take to heart as we GoLove others. That way, we will be faithful ambassadors for Christ, and not just representatives for our own pride. Serving others as Jesus would if often the best cure for our ego, especially those who can do nothing for us in return.