Editorial: What does it mean to be great?

I shared dinner last night with a group of students from India. The organizer of the group told the story of Jesus telling his disciples, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26).

Then he asked us, “What does it mean to be great?”

Jesus’ definition of greatness

In the story as told by Matthew, James’ and John’s mom brought them to Jesus to ask a favor on their behalf. It’s interesting that the mother of two grown men is the one seeking a favor for them. It’s also interesting it’s their mother and not their father. There’s clearly more to the story, but that’s for another time.

“Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom,” she said (Matthew 20:21).

She asked the wrong person. Jesus told her those spots weren’t his to give. His other disciples caught wind of the conversation and took offense. Jesus told them to gather around.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you,” he said. “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).

Another interesting point about this exchange: Jesus had just tried to teach this same group of people the same thing.

Matthew 18:1-4 reads: “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

“He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”

Visions of greatness

Several of the students last night answered the question, “What does it mean to be great?” with, “Being the best at what you do.”

On hearing their answer, I thought, “G.O.A.T.—greatest of all time.” And to be the G.O.A.T., a person has to win … a lot. Winning a lot did come up in the discussion.

I don’t know what accoutrements the students around the table attach to greatness. I do know greatness in American culture tends to be associated with celebrity, affluent ZIP codes, luxury cars, political victories, dominance and the like. These students—as with most college students—hope to achieve this kind of greatness; they’ve said so.

Other students last night said being great means serving and doing good for others. One student referred to Akbar the Great, emperor of India during the last half of the 16th century. Akbar’s acclaimed greatness straddled the line between political dominance and seeking the welfare of his people.

Another student said being great means always being present for people, not just one hour a week, but always there, even when it’s inconvenient.

His definition was rich, and I asked him, “Who has been that in your life?”

A bit surprised, he responded, “My parents.”

What greatness are we after? Are we after the kind rewarded with material benefits? Are we trying to get ourselves, our families, our churches, our businesses, our communities in the most prestigious position possible? How are we displaying that so-called greatness? I bet it looks like the world.

Church greatness

The American church is often guilty of bending toward greatness defined by the world. To the extent we seek that greatness, we are of the world as much as we are in it.

This worldly form of greatness is typified by the drive to impress. One of the clearest ways our churches seek to impress is through numbers. We reduce our spiritual work to numbers we can report. The higher the numbers, the better.

Baptists recognize and award churches based on the number of people baptized and the amount of money given in a year. We give special recognition to the churches who give the most money. Interestingly, we know who gives the most money more readily than we know who baptizes the most converts.

Recognized churches often are great churches, but not because of the money they give. They have great ministries that serve in the ways and for the reasons Jesus told us to serve.

Equally great are all the churches doing the same without any of the recognition. Perhaps greater, though, are those who make nothing of being overlooked. They are the models we should emulate—so long as we don’t run them up the flagpole for being such great examples.

Christian greatness

Being great as Jesus defined it is like being humble. It’s not something we are to think about or go looking for; it’s something we are to do. And it won’t be comfortable or glorious.

James’ and John’s mom thought her boys had earned positions of greatness next to Jesus. Jesus tried to put that idea to rest. He said true greatness is the opposite of what all of them thought. It’s to be considered like nothing—expendable—to this world.

Yet, here we are trying our darndest to make ourselves indispensable to this world. We think we’ve earned it and deserve it. To win it back, we cheer those who flaunt Christ’s commands while using his name. Clamoring for our former prominence and glory, we sometimes even sacrifice our principles to regain it.

We—Jesus’ people—all too often elbow our way to the top when Jesus is calling us to a race to the bottom. But it’s a different kind of bottom than we associate with the phrase. The low place Jesus calls us to is the place where our dignity and greatness are found.

Can we turn from the world’s acclaim to go there?

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed are those solely of the author.