My kids turn everything into a competition. They race to the front door when we come home and compare who got the most dessert in their bowl. Even Jesus’s apostles debated who among them was the greatest. However, Jesus tells His apostles that if they want to be first, they must be last, and if they want to be great, they must be the slave to all.
It’s easy to get caught up in keeping up with the Joneses, changing our lifestyle based on what others do. One of the reasons many people find themselves in financial trouble is because they overextend themselves and buy things that they can’t afford. Often, people put up a facade, but when you look deeper, you might find instability and turmoil. This can be the case in regards to a person’s spiritual life as well. Someone may appear to be a very holy person on the outside, but is actually a spiritual mess on the inside.
When everything is a competition, the thing that is lacking is love. If I’m positioning myself to be above you then I’m not loving you as I should. I need to lift others up instead of stepping on them to elevate myself. The more I serve others, the more love I show to them. This aligns with Jesus’teaching, “If you want to be great, you must be the slave to all.” Jesus was the ultimate example of this teaching. He didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to give His life for us.
Let’s all try to be more selfless and loving of others. While we should all strive to be the best version of ourselves and be successful, we don’t need to put ourselves above others to accomplish that goal. Even many athletes show sportsmanship, respect, and love to their opponents outside of the game. We teach our kids at a young age that it’s not whether they win or lose, it’s how they play the game. This is also true with life. The greatness we have in Heaven isn’t dependent on whether we were successful in life or not, but on how much we loved.
