Presumptuous Relations

Presumptuous Relations                                                    By Kelly Durant 9-24-11

Mark 10:36-41. 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.

A Christian friend told me about a visit one time to a homeless shelter and a person there was being belligerent and imposing asking everyone there, “Hey who is the king?”, “I am”! He was annoying everyone trying be act cool and dominate the group by asking, “Who is the king?” Until he got to this Christian brother who saw that his pride needed to get clipped like you clip a birds wings and when he came to ask him, Hey, who’s the king?” He responded, “It doesn’t matter who the king is, what matters is who is the King of kings”! I want you to meet Him!

Dealing with people often times is like being a snake charmer. You have seen the snake charmers from India who play their flute and make the snake dance out of the basket. The problem gets serious though if suddenly the flute player needs to cough and the music stops. What happens? The snake that once seemed so happy moving to the music of the master suddenly reverts to his evil nature and strikes out at the master to bite him and kill him!

Working with people can easily be compared to the job of the snake charmer! Sometimes it seems like everyone is happy, and you are happy and a lot is getting done for the kingdom of God, and then suddenly someone makes a human mistake, and then the flow of work & music gets interrupted and then the fangs come out! Most people are not even aware of their own vicious nature when things do not go as they want them too!  People do not even perceive their own pride nor see with God’s spirit when they talk bad about others with unkind words.

Today in the scripture we see what typically goes on in any group setting, there is always a few who want to get in good with the boss so that the boss will do extra favors for them.

Here James and John, two disciples that usually are spiritual, that usually behave well, get out of control in their ambition. They are just like anyone of you or me, anyone of us can normally be in tune with God but once in a while we can be very out-of-tune! They are dedicated to Jesus, and they are proud of that fact, just as Peter was proud when he boasted that he would even die for Jesus if he had to but then he went on to deny him 3 times. Pride comes before a fall!

So what has happened here? These two disciples out of their pride and ambitious thinking were being very disrespectful to Jesus authority by their desires for having other recognize they were better than them. Here is the whole matter with people at times:

When things are going how you or I want them to be in the Corps church, when it seems the points are in your favor, then you everyone is happy. But when someone says something without thinking, then anger and hurt feelings can go around.  Who is the blame for the hurt feelings? It may not be the blame of the other person but from your own self!  

Like it or not each one of us have to get use to getting humiliated and corrected at times just as James and John did. We don’t know what God is doing in His plan within His work, and His big picture is more important than our ways. 

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Here James and John got a rebuke, a correction.  Do people when they get a rebuke really appreciate it?  Most people get angry that I know. But if a person is discipleship material like James and John, if they are a true Christian, then they will feel bad, maybe angry, maybe embarrassed, but you, or this person, will survive the uncomfortable-ness of the  correction and of the peer group and just keep on going for God!

Jesus made it clear he does not want us to have the mind of the people of the world that in a natural order sets up a hierarchy of the pecking order. In prisons, in our communities with gangs, in schools and in businesses, and yes sad to say, even in churches people naturally fall into a hierarchy of who is more important. Usually the most aggressive put their selves on top, but Jesus showed us a better way. To be a servant one to another! In other words, it is true the aggressive succeed but the aggressive to serve others and do God’s work. He that would be simple like a child. Again we keep reading.    

Lk 9:46-28  “Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”

I personally don’t like over aggressive imposing people, people who want to make their selves out to be better than anyone else, and I think most of us feel the same.  It is the game of politics that we all are tired of.  Just like the disciples were angry with James and John, wanting to get special treatment, it is natural also for us to want equality, justice, fairness and the same rewards for all that do things worthy of getting rewards.

Jesus is saying this, okay, you want to be on top, then sacrifice the most! Be a slave to others! Be the least of your brethren! Give your life in sacrifice to a cruel death! (the baptism he was refereeing to) Be like a child! “Be the least among you all and you will be great.”

Greatness only comes from being a servant and being willing to do anything for God’s service, no matter how humiliating or degrading it may be! It is sad many people flunk the tests of God to sacrifice more, to give all of their lives, to humiliate their selves, and instead they criticize and attack back those guiding them down that path!

Also, these same verses of study today are repeated in Matt. 20:20-22 But they have even more a twist to the story, listen to this… Be careful of the people who tell you to be great. 

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

So now we see even more of the story, it was not just James and John that were ambitious of being the most praised, the most exalted within the group of disciples, it was their mother behind them influencing them! I want to warn each of you, that you need great discernment when you do God’s work! 

I know there are many men and women, and youth, that have other voices of influence in their lives in their homes that tell them, “Don’t let the Captain make you serve food, you are better than that! Don’t do anything unless he makes you leader of the group!” The Salvation Army’s got money, make them pay you! 

The problem I have with serving Jesus quite often is that you can see through people’s hearts, their influences, and their motives! It is the discernment of the Holy Spirit and it also is that I, like all of you here, have been through the school of hard knocks of getting humiliated in front of the group as James or John, but I have learned, humbled myself, moved on and grown spiritually! I recognize proud people because I too was once proud as most all of us have been!

Sometimes we wonder amongst ourselves, what happened to this or that person, we needed them for an important meeting and they did not show up! Sometimes people don’t show up because they don’t want to have to do any sacrifice, but that is failing God!

God sees it all and the whole group sees it all and I am surprised quite often some people have no shame that they are absent when we need them. They are not failing the Captains but failing the whole group of people in the church, failing God’s work, and out of pride not willing to be a nobody!

If you think any task around the church is too humiliating than just think about this, Jesus touched lepers many many times, Jesus escaped almost being killed a few times, Jesus suffered embarrassment from his disciples who failed or were offensive, but did He tell God that it was enough already? Did He say, okay, “Beam me up Scotty?” I am out of here! You can forget all these proud ugly humans and put me back on my throne where I use to be! 

No! Jesus served ‘til the very end and so much so that He was willing to die in a horrible way to show His love for us! After becoming a Christian, any one of us should think, wow, if Jesus suffered that much, then nothing that happens to me is really that bad at all! No matter how humiliating or dirty the job, I will do it for Jesus because He did more for me than what I can ever do for Him!

In the verse 39 Jesus says, “Okay, it is true you will be baptized of my baptism”, which meant that James and John would die serving Him, but even though they went on to die for God, even though Jesus knew this before it happened, He still insisted that they do not out of pride ask for a special reward of recognition! They have a special place in heaven! Imagine, all the angels, all the billions that have ever lived know the names of the disciples! They are famous forever with crowns of glory.

Do you want to be like them, honored by God and honored by others? Then never be ambitious for nothing! Never do the mistake of James & John to think that you deserve more, that you need a special status.  Just be as the verse says  in  Luke 17:10

So likewise, ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.    Prayer…