Higher archy

 This week's verses are Mark 10:42-45:

Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the 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.”

 These verses come just after a couple of the disciples tried to manipulate Jesus into putting them into authority over the others. As it turns out, those two were not the only ones to think they were Kind of a Big Deal amongst the disciples, so they all argued over who was most deserving of the position. Here Jesus corrects them with some controversial words.

If we put ourselves in the place of the disciples, his words kind of sting. We all think we're kind of special in our own way. Everyone thinks they're above average! Maybe we consider ourselves to be a little more charismatic or insightful, maybe we have more experience in leadership positions, or whatever. Everyone has something they think entitles them to that parking spot with their name on it. That's the game the disciples were playing, and when Jesus rebukes them, he rebukes us too.

The world we live in is still playing the game that the disciples were trying to play. People seek leadership positions not because of what good they can do with them, but to get a bit more cash money, a bit more control over others, and a bit more of that celebrity feeling. We want authority mainly for what it can do for us, and we measure our success by what we can get others to do in our place.

If you look at nearly every society in history, this is how the hierarchy goes. The strong or the popular or the already-wealthy end up on top, and the others serve them. The very highest among them don't even cook their own food or put on their own shoes. They just ride on a throne carried by others and have their picture on every wall. This is basically what the disciples were looking for, when you boil it down. They wanted to be on top. Not "God" top, but the next rung down from that on the org chart.

But Jesus tells us that is backwards. The hierarchy in God's kingdom is not about riding on the backs of others, but about carrying them. First place goes not to the person who has the most people working for them, but the person who works for the most people. It's not about commanding obedience, but being obedient ourselves. It's not about establishing our sovereignty over others, but about becoming their slave. It's not what we want or expect. Whose dream career is to be accepted for the position of "slave of all?"

And just to be sure that we don't misunderstand what he is saying, Jesus reminds us that he has lived out the life he is calling us to follow. He didn't come to earth to cash in, or to advance himself in some way. He didn't come seeking fame and a long comfortable life. He came to do everything that was required of him, to pour out everything for us, even his life.

But back here in Flesh World, that seems unreal. We watch videos and read books promising to help us climb to the top and break that glass ceiling. We round up followers on the internet to build our platform. We get plaques and certifications to bolster our case. And yet what Jesus is saying, the place he is calling us, exists completely outside of that world.

When we want to follow Jesus, we want to be the triumphant, end-times victorious, miracle-working, crowd-drawing Jesus. We want to be winning arguments with Pharisees, and crafting witty parables that get retweeted. But nobody wants to be the Jesus who is locked up, mocked by bored grunts, the victim of police brutality, nailed to a cross, executed in front of his family, abandoned by his friends who decided to salvage what was left of their careers. We push that Jesus out of our mind's eye.

And here is that Jesus, who is calling us to follow him, saying "I did not come to be served but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many." Is that the game we're playing? If it's not, it's unlikely we're going to be on his team, because that's the game he's playing. He even spells it out for us: whoever wants to be great must be a servant, and whoever wants to be at the front of the line must be the slave of all.

So here's an exercise for the coming week, or however long you last: do what you can to serve those around you. And not in a self-rewarding, mercenary, "look at me, I'm Super-Christian" sort of insincere way, but genuinely, like you are literally someone else's chattel property. And not just people you like, or who might have some legitimate claim on your labor, but anyone who needs your help. You're in slave mode. It's harder than you think!

One of a couple things will likely happen:

1. You will very quickly realize that you do not love your fellow man nearly as much as you have been telling yourself.
2. You will experience what medieval-sounding people call "mortification of the flesh," where you are forced to deal with some of your sinful nature in order to get the job done.

Both of those are good outcomes, even if we don't manage very much after a couple days of putting in an effort. It's good to want to be leaders, but let's make sure we follow our Lord's example, and not the fallen model of the world around us. In his kingdom, you have to kneel in order to climb.