We have them everywhere. Mohammed Ali has said, "I am the greatest." Jack Dawson (Leonardo Dicaprio's character on Titanic) is the "king of the world." We are inundated with "the Donald," because "part of the beauty of [him] is that [he] is very rich." Greatness--we hunger for it, long for it, and sometimes pander to it. We want riches, power, glory, and honor.
Right now I have been looking at cars. I don't need one but I'd like to get one that gets good gas mileage. It has been my selling point to my wife and to myself--but the truth is I sometimes like to get things. I want to have something new and shiny--even if it's not "cool" it's at least new. It makes me feel a little bit of greatness.
In Matthew 18:1 the disciples of Jesus, those who have lived with him and followed him closely for years, ask him the question in all of our hearts. "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" These are guys already assuming they are included in the kingdom of heaven--and rightly so for the most part. They have left everything for their new king and want to to know what they have to do to climb the ladder in the kingdom and get the seat closest to the throne.
Jesus pulls over a little child and has her stand right in their midst. She probably stares at the ground, shy to be put on the spot, with nothing to offer. She is probably a little scared and awkward, the shortest, weakest, and least savvy of the group. Jesus looks at his disciples and tells them, "Unless you change and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Wait. What? Jesus answers the question first they had not even asked. They had wanted to know how to be the greatest in the kingdom. They are already in, right? Jesus says, "Wait a minute. Not so fast. You have to change and become like this little humble, weak child or you will not even be part of the kingdom. But if you do become humble like this child you will be greatest in my kingdom. Your admission into the kingdom is paid through becoming less. And your climb to the top of the kingdom is through becoming less here. Humility equals greatness. Greatness equals humility.
And so, again, our quest for greatness is honored by Jesus but our way of procuring it is not what we think. We have to serve and seek to be less. We put others before ourselves, always and in everything. We are the first to apologize and the last to get angry. And, if you're like me, I have to admit that I'm often the first to get angry, especially with those close to me like my wife. Which brings up another point.
We have to admit weakness and "change." I cannot just stay the way that I am. I have to change because I want to be part of the kingdom. It is humbling to admit our shortcomings and awfully hard to change them. It feels like I'm dying inside to go apologize to my wife when I think I'm completely justified and her evaluation of me is way off. But it changes me. It is humbling to tell a friend that I have not been there for him because I was selfishly concerned with my own life. It hurts to admit those things humbly.
Yes, it does hurt. It does feel like death. And it changes us. It changes us for the kingdom. It makes us the greatest.
