“The last shall be first…”
“To lead you must serve…”
“To die is gain…”
Wait… What? None of those things sound very much like winning does it? We know & hold on to verses like John 10.10 that says that Jesus came so that we might have life more abundantly, but to die is gain? Since when is dying gaining? Since when is losing winning?
When you change your current mindset to the mindset of a servant. It will all make sense.
That’s kingdom mentality…
Kingdom thinking is backwards of the way we’re taught to think and believe according to societal norms & it takes some getting used to. Can you imagine what it would look like if your boss (if you work) were to go to your house the day you called in sick, not to check up on you to see if you’re lying, but rather to take care of you. To serve you and nurse you back to health.
W I L L N E V E R H A P P E N.
Yet we see in John 13 that Jesus kneeled with a bowl of water and washed the feet of the disciples. Yes, He even washed Judas’ feet, knowing already that he would betray him. When you have the mindset of a servant, things such as betrayal, fake friends, no likes on facebook or Instagram, don’t matter, because in the end Jesus sacrificed himself for all of us. Including our real friends and our fakebook friends, those that love us and those that betray us. He died for all of us and we live for him.
In John 10 we see 2 disciples looking for shine once they’re with Jesus in glory and Jesus quickly shuts them down. But then Jesus blows everyone’s mind by saying that “Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”! Then he goes further by reminding them that He (Jesus), did not come to be served, but to serve!
All throughout the New Testament we see this way of thinking taught by Jesus and then by the disciples which is in stark contrast to the “ALL I DO IS WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN” mindset that we are taught now. According to this in order for us to win? We must lose. In order to come first, we must set ourselves up to be last and not only last, but help others be first! Serve and not be served! It’s so backwards! John 17.14 reminds us that although we are in this world, we are not of it… So if we’re not of this world, then our way of thinking should also not be of this world. Our way of speaking & responding should also not be of this world! In the mindset of this world, all we do is win, win, win, win, win… In the mindset of a servant, we do the opposite…
We take the “L”.