I want the best

We want the good stuff.

Whether it's going out to dinner, if we could afford it, we would get the best steak.

We want the best job great pay and awesome staff around us.

We want to be the best athlete or follow the best sports teams.

Wanting the best doesn't always happen.

I went to a high school that had a 39 game football losing streak.

At the beginning of the year, I would ask members of the team how they thought they would do.

It was typical to hear, we are going to go 6-2 and make the playoffs.

They have to believe they are destined for great things even when it's unlikely.

We do the same with our lives.

We want to follow the best team, be recognized for doing great work.

Have the best wife and kids.

Go to the great colleges and get top notch grades/scholarships.

No matter how hard we work sometimes it doesn't happen.

I tried to work hard as an athlete, as a cross country runner in high school I felt like I never peaked.

Multiple knee injuries among stress fractures, strain ligaments in my foot a couple of pulled muscle and shin splits kept my ability down.

I would still try my best but fighting through the pain never got me the times I thought I could run.

We persevere to be the best.

Our families want the best for us and we want the best for us.

The disciples, the ones following Jesus were no different.

They wanted to be the best disciples and some of their families wanted the same thing.

A mother of two of the men came to Jesus and asked if her sons could sit on the right and left side of Jesus.

She really didn't know what this required, the men thought they could handle this.

Jesus told them, it's not for him to decide.

Once the others found out about this, they were ticked.

12 followed Jesus around and two thought they were greater.

This could have been chaos.

This is what happened from there in Matthew 20:25-27 (The Message version)…

"So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave."

This could have been a major division among the followers of Jesus.

They struggled who would be the greatest.

They wanted the best but had no idea what that meant.

Jesus tells them if you want to be the greatest you must be below everyone else.

What a tough lesson to learn.

Jesus could care less about how high of a position we have.

How the best television and the best possessions don't make us better.

We have to serve.

Being great in Jesus eyes mean we have to serve.

Jesus put the disciples in their place, prevented major conflict and pushed them to go further in faith.

What do you think?

Do you have what it takes to become the least?

To become a servant?

Until we serve we honestly don't know what following Jesus is all about.

Titles don't matter they never make up our actions.

Do you serve?

Have a great day.