Daily Reading: Mark chapters 9 thru 12

Key Verses: Mark 10: 43-45

Who does the world proclaim as great among men?  There are people who are declared great because of their position such as President, Vice-President, Senators,etc.  But are they really great... President Clinton had a great moral failure, a public humbling.  Tom  Delay apparently misappropriated money.  The Governor of New Jersey had an illicit affair with a man.  Foley sent provocative emails to young male pages.  So, can we really look upon these men as great.  The world also declares entertainers and athletes as great.  Paris Hilton has a sex video.  Ray Carruth had his baby's moma killed.  Mike Tyson, Micheal Jackson, James Brown and OJ Simpson are self-explanatory.  Why does the world declare such people as great?  These people have the appearance of greatness - due to position, talent, money.  So, we may try to model this appearance of greatness by imitating them.  We may dress the part or act the part to make ourselves feel great or important.  In addition, this act allows us to feel superior to others because we think we too now have the appearance of greatness.  In ancient Greek times, actors were called hypocrites, which meant playing a part on the stage, or putting on a mask to misrepresent reality. In the book of Matthew, Jesus speaks blatantly about hypocrites (Matthew 6:1-6; 7:1-5; 15:1-9).

Jesus wrecks our worldview by explaining that greatness in the kingdom requires humility.  Humility is arriving at a correct estimation of one's self through God's eyes.  It results from an emptying of ourselves of self.  It is a realization of our unworthiness to receive God's marvelous grace.  Humilty also comes from a correct estimation of God.  When we can see ourselves in light of an awesome, omniscient, all-powerful God, it should drive us to aggressive confession because we now know ourselves for who we really are.  Some of the world's great people, like those listed above, were publicly humbled but again and again the Bible tells us we need to humble ourselves ( 2 Chronicles 7:14, Ezra 8:21-23, Proverbs 6:3, James 4:10 and 1 Peter 5:6).  We can start by serving others instead of looking to others to serve us.