Everyone is born with a desire for greatness. But given the rampant abuses of power we see in our world today, it can be easy to believe that our desire for greatness is inherently sinful. As this three day plan will show, Jesus offers an alternative perspective, showing his disciples and us the good in our desire to be great.
Jordan Raynor
Day 1
Scripture: Mark 10:35-45
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Chances are good that you didn’t want to be an actuary or a coal miner (no offense if that is your current vocation).
When I ask my 5- and 3-year-old daughters what they want to be when they grow-up, they describe epic ambitions to be doctors, Olympic athletes, police officers, astronauts, and Disney princesses. Like every other kid, my daughters want to be great. They want to save the world. They want to be a hero. Do you remember what it felt like to desire greatness the way a child does?
As we grow up, life and experience may cause our desire for greatness to diminish, but I don’t think it ever goes away. Case in point? Today’s Scripture reading, featuring James and John’s request to sit at the left and right hand of Jesus in heaven. The desire for greatness planted in James and John’s hearts long ago had not gone away. Here they are as grown men clamoring for the chance to be viewed for all eternity as the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
You and I may not be making that exact same request of Jesus today, but I think we all wrestle with the ambition to be seen as great, powerful, successful, and influential compared to those around us. The question is, is our desire for greatness inherently sinful? Or is it simply misdirected?
Over the next two days, we will take a closer look at this passage in Mark, and the surprising fact that Jesus doesn’t condemn the disciples (or our) desire for greatness. In fact, he encourages it. But in the same breath, Jesus radically redefines what true greatness is, giving us a valuable lesson as we lean ambitiously into our careers.
Day 2
Scripture: Genesis 1:27-28
Yesterday, we read Mark 10:35-45 where James and John pulled Jesus aside to ask for the places of highest honor in the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ve always been fascinated by this passage, because I think most modern readers expect Jesus to harshly rebuke the disciples’ desire for greatness. But that’s not what Jesus does.
Look at Mark 10:43. Following the disciples’ shameless request, Jesus doesn’t say, “How dare you ask to sit by my side in glory.” Instead, Jesus starts his reply with, “whoever wants to become great among you.” Jesus goes on to redefine what greatness truly is (which we’ll look at closely tomorrow), but it’s important to pause here and note that Jesus never condemns the disciples’ ambition or desire for greatness.
Why? I think it’s because God is the one who put the desire for greatness in our hearts. Think back to the Garden of Eden. When God created humankind, he called them to “fill the earth and subdue it,” to “rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” This is regal language. These are the duties of kings and queens. From the beginning of time, God has granted humankind great power and responsibility. Our desire for greatness and power isn’t inherently evil. It is a goodthing hardwired into our DNA, placed there by the Creator himself.
Now, of course, sin has greatly distorted our desire for greatness. In the world of work, sin causes us to crave power for our own fame and fortune, and in the worst cases, as a means of exploiting employees, customers, and vendors. Those abuses of power are clearly antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.
So while Jesus’s doesn’t condemn James and John’s desire for power, he does go on to radically redefine what true greatness and power is, and in doing so, offers tremendous insight for our own ambitions as we work. It is that redefinition of greatness that we will look at tomorrow.
Day 3
Scriptures: Proverbs 22:29, Mark 10:43-44
Over the past few days, we have been looking at Jesus’ exchange with the disciples in Mark 10:35-45. In this passage, James and John ask if they can sit in the places of greatest honor alongside Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven. If our inherent desire for greatness and power was sinful, this would have been the perfect time for Jesus to say so. But he didn’t. Jesus didn’t diminish the disciples’ desire greatness. He simply redirected it.
Look back at Jesus’s response to James in John, recorded in Mark 10:43-45: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus is essentially saying, “You want to sit at the right hand of the King of kings? You want real power and true greatness? Stop focusing on being seen as great. Become a servant. Spend your power in service of others.” Of course, soon after this discourse with the disciples, Jesus would live out the ultimate demonstration of this principle at Calvary. The King of kings—the perfect human being—would voluntarily empty himself of all his physical power in order to redeem the human race.
So, what does this passage mean for us as we seek to master the work we believe the Lord has called us to? All throughout Scripture, God promises power to those who are masterful at their crafts. Today’s Scripture reading from Proverbs 22:29 is a great example. It says, “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”
When you and I build great businesses, design an elegant new process at work, create beautiful art, and get world-class at the work we have been called to do, we will “not serve before officials of low rank.” We will “serve before kings” and be granted some degree of power, influence, and “greatness.” The question is, how will we respond to this truth?
I see three possible responses. First, out of fear of becoming power-mongering egomaniacs, we can become less ambitious for our work, refusing to accept the God-given gift of power that comes with mastery. Second, we can ambitiously pursue power as a means of serving ourselves. Or third, we can follow Jesus’s prescription for true greatness, gratefully accepting the power and influence that comes with excellent work, so that we, like Jesus, can pour that power out in service of others.