Mark 10:32-45 – 32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In Mark 10:32-45, Christ contrasts how the world defines greatness with how God does. So how do you know if you’re thinking like the world or like Christ in terms of influence and leadership? Those who have the world’s view of greatness have the main goal of accomplishing tasks or getting people or children in line. On the other hand true greatness, always wants to benefit others, even if correction or rebuke is involved. The #1 obstacle to be faithful in this area is the lie that nothing will get done and no one will change unless we adopt the world’s way of leading. It’s the false belief that we must demand respect and have our God-given authority validated by those under it. Not only will we miserably fail to accomplish what we are after if we do that, even if we can get some results by manipulation or intimidation, we also blatantly disobey the commands of Christ.
Here’s another indicator of thinking like the world—making someone earn our service. The following questions are anti-gospel and contrary to the mind of Christ: “Do I like this person well enough to sacrifice for them? Is there some sort of kick back I’ll receive for serving this person; other than pleasing Christ since oftentimes sadly that’s just not good enough?” Instead we should be asking, “Did the Son of God find you and me worthy enough to spill his spotless blood?” Of course not. We are to consider ourselves slaves of all because Christ gave his life for us, not because someone meets man-made qualifications to be served by a slave. Paul said, I made myself a slave of all to win more and in doing so he denied himself many things in order to serve others for the sake of the gospel. That’s our position in this world as a Christian.