The Highest

Devotion by: Jeanne McKinley

Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

In Matthew 23, verse 12, Jesus spoke: “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Jesus spent a lot of time on this point: humility, gentleness, and love are more important than high status. In Jesus’ time, there were many in the church who considered themselves leaders and made a big show of how important they were. They loved to be seen making big decisions, demonstrating their superior knowledge of scripture, and making sure that others understood their inferior positions. Jesus never made a distinction between rich or poor, educated or not, leaders or listeners. He looked only at people’s hearts, and at whether or not they were kind to others. Verse 8 of this chapter is even a warning to those who would call themselves Teachers, reminding them that their gift for teaching is not of their own making. Neither is the ability to lead a self-given gift. All gifts must be used with humility, and compliments acknowledged with gratitude to God for those gifts.

The Lord has given us all gifts, and He has created each one of us for a purpose. When we are doing what He made us to do, we may feel more successful, and others may recognize that we are good at what we do. But it is because of His abundant grace that we have our abilities, so we cannot boast of what we do, nor can we judge harshly what others cannot. Christ’s desire is that we value each other based on our created worth as God’s children, not on earthly ideas of who is more important than another. Earthly measures of “success” are not God’s measures.

When we believe that our success, wealth, status, or knowledge is because of our own efforts, we risk becoming arrogant. When we realize that our success, wealth, status and knowledge are from God, we know humility and thankfulness. Only then do we gain favor in God’s eyes.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us Your formula for greatness: to be a servant to those around us. You know our hearts, You see our souls, and You will give us the strength we need to live our lives. For that, we give You thanks. Amen.