A Servants Heart

"Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26b-28

        There seems to be a prevailing thought in society today that this generation is all about entitlement. Demanding things that they necessarily haven't earned. I seem to think that while it may be a generational thing we all have a bit of entitlement in us. Why else would we feel the way we do others get something we want? Or better yet, criticize how someone got something because we "felt" they didn't deserve it.

          Jesus dealt with that mentality here in this passage. Two disciples vocalized what I'm sure they all were thinking. They wanted a spot next to Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus however, knowing the condition of their heart postulated something to them that was probably the furthest thing from their mind as He told them, "why don't you be a slave instead?" (paraphrase mine) 

            The simplicity of this statement was overshadowed by the harshness of the reality these disciples must have faced. I'm sure they thought, "I just asked to be on top but Jesus told me it's better to be on the bottom instead, better being a servant to others instead of a leader." What they missed however, was Jesus was doing this all along. Sure he did the miracles and wonders, but He was a servant first. Jesus tried first showing them his example, hoping that maybe he wouldn't have to tell them what they didn't want to hear. 

             I wonder how many of us pay attention to his example and really recognize that the power is not in asking for what we think we deserve, but instead recognizing that its better for us to give what we have then demand to receive what we don't. I think that's what a servants heart is all about.