Matthew 22:41-23:12

“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11–12, ESV)

Greatness is appreciated by all. Most people have a desire to be significant or to make a significant contribution to a cause. Even the Pharisees desired to “be somebody”. Their problem was that they loved the approval of men, but they did not pursue the approval of God. They did many things for show. They wanted to turn heads so that others would admire them for their piousness and spirituality, but they were not truly spiritual, for if they were, then they would have cared more about their integrity than their reputation. But I have heard it said that if will look after our integrity, then God will look after our reputation. If we will seek to please God, then He will give us all the approval we need both now and forever. People may not approve of us. They may find fault with us and say evil things about us. But if that happens, then we can be comforted knowing that they did the same thing to Jesus.

Our goal should always be to please God by valuing others, for this is what Jesus did. He did not point out their failures, but He saw their potential. He called them to a higher standard, then He gave them the grace, truth and power to achieve it. He came not to be served but to serve others and lift them up to heaven.

Albert Einstein wrote, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Success is often measured by a person’s “net worth” or by the number of likes or views he has on social media. Men seek success by making a name for themselves. But how much do we value others, and how much value are we adding to their lives? If we truly value others, then we will be delighted when they do something worthy of honor, and we will gladly help them to do it. If we humble ourselves not to seek our own greatness but to greatly contribute to the well-being and promotion of others, then we will be like our Lord, and we will be truly great in the eyes of God and men.

If this season teaches us nothing else, may we all learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive.