They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:33–35) Once a man gets past his desire to “be somebody,” he can contribute greatly to God’s Kingdom. experience. I just recently finished writing a book for all the right reasons. I wrote that book as a servant of Christ, wanting to do something really great for God. And yet, every single day while I was working on that manuscript, I’d have a thought like, “Oh, this is good! People are going to love me!” Or I might catch myself thinking, “This book is so good, I just might make enough money with it to take my wife on a really nice vacation.” The way of the world is to seek a type of “greatness” that enlists people to serve me. In Christ’s Kingdom, though, true greatness is defined in terms of service. Today’s Scripture passage asks a simple question: Are you willing to humble yourself to serve, rather than expecting to be served? MIMBS 3 26 Wednesday—July 26•Greatness Defined But the reality is no one completely loses the desire for position and prestige. I know this from How do you answer today’s question: Are you willing to humble yourself to serve, rather than expecting to be served? Describe a recent experience that supports your answer. Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 17:1–18:34, Romans 9:25–10:13, Psalm 20:1–9, Proverbs 20:2–3 Thursday—July 27•Evil is Right There So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:21–23) I remember hearing a highly esteemed Christian counselor and popular author, who described a tearful visit to the beach. He was weeping, heavily under conviction and on his knees repenting in the sand. In the midst of that humbling experience, he found himself thinking, Oh, this is good! I can’t wait to write about this. Suddenly he was distracted, considering how he could describe this experience in a way that would elevate his prestige in the Christian community. Regardless of whether you’ve walked with Jesus for six months or six years or sixty years, you will always find that, when you want to do good, evil is right there with you. That doesn’t make you a bad Christian. But you do need to be aware that your motives will never be entirely pure. Jesus told us that, in His Kingdom, a person who wants to be great must become a servant. That doesn’t come naturally, so it requires that we intentionally choose the humble lifestyle of a servant over an exalted position that demands attention. MIMBS 3 How have you seen that when you want to do good evil is right there with you? Share your thoughts with your group. Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 19:1–20:37, Romans 10:14–11:12, Psalm 21:1–13, Proverbs 20:4–6
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