Being Number One Is For the Birds!
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be 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.” (Mark 10:42-45)
Earlier this year my wife decided she would like to have a few chickens around the house. The original idea was that they would provide insect control service around the yard, and eggs for breakfast. Now I’ve got to admit I’m really not all that into chickens - that is unless the chicken is joining me for supper! But the prospect of free eggs and a potential rotisserie dinner somewhere in the future finally won me over. So I turned our backyard shed into a chicken coup and my wife made the trip to the farmer’s coop for the little peeps. After getting them home I got a little concerned when I learned that the chickens were all given names. But it was reasoned to me that the given names were chosen to remind us of their ultimate purpose. (“chicken-fricassee,” “chicken-bar-b-q,” “chicken-alfredo.”) So I skeptically went along with the cute chicken names. But as the daily bird feedings turned into something like a visit to a petting zoo for my wife and daughter, I soon realized my chances of a succulent chicken dinner had probably flown the coup. So now we dutifully provide daily dinner for the birds instead of them providing dinner for us.
Now I’ve observed a rather well known phenomenon that occurs when it’s time to feed the chickens. Once the feed is thrown down I’ve noticed that the chickens have established a kind of dominance hierarchy. In everyday language we would say there is a “pecking order.” Chicken number one determines the best spot to stand as it feeds, and if any other bird infringes on its territory, it pecks it away. In turn, chicken number two gets to stand in what it perceives as the next best place to feed but it can’t invade chicken number one’s territory. If another chicken begins to infringe on chicken number two’s feeding space, it will peck it away. But chicken number two doesn’t go after chicken number one. It only goes after chickens that are further down the ladder than it is. And so on it goes, with each chicken finding its own place in this linear hierarchy - pecking the ones below, but not retaliating against the ones above it. It goes all the way down to chicken number nine (we only bought nine peeps) who unfortunately doesn’t have anyone to peck. I’m sure it must be very frustrating to be the lowest chicken on the totem pole. But there’s still hope for chicken number nine. Thanks to a hungry barn owl in the area, who apparently also has a taste for chicken, chicken number nine has recently moved up a couple of notches in the hierarchy. (Isn’t it nice to know we’re keeping all the birds in the area well fed!)
This pecking order thing is by no means unique to the animal kingdom. If you read the context of the verses above you’ll find that James and John are trying to posture for position in Jesus’ kingdom. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” (Mark 10:35-37) In other words, “We’d like to establish our position in the pecking order.” They crow, “We want to be big roosters in the kingdom!” In response to their request, Jesus gives the disciples a lesson on getting rid of this “me-first” mindset.
Abandon The Struggle To Be First “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to first, must be slave of all.” Jesus teaches us to stop being concerned about being number one. If you really want your Heavenly Father to take notice, work on being a servant. Our culture is pre-occupied with being “number one.” We want to be known as the number one singer, the number one business person, the number one at whatever it is we are doing. We want people to see us as the most athletic, the most educated, the most popular, and the most successful - all just different expressions of putting ourselves out in front of others. We want to rank high in the pecking order. We spend our lives trying to win the rat race. It’s the wrong race to run. And it’s exactly the opposite of what Jesus says is really important in his kingdom. If you really want to win in this world and the next, Jesus says abandon the struggle to be first and learn how to put others before yourself. Completely abandon the struggle to be first as a life goal. Instead make it your goal to serve others. Who wants to win the rat race anyway? I don’t know who will ultimately win the rat race, but I do know this; It will definitely be a rat.
Commit Yourself To A Life Of Servanthood “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.” Surely if anyone had the right to demand service it would have been the glorious Son of God. But Christ said everything about his life pointed to the fact that it was not about others serving him, but about him serving others. In God’s economy, the way to the top is exactly the opposite of what the world requires. Worldly leadership moves upward and then demands authority, power and others to serve. Christian leadership is oriented downward, and demonstrates humility and gladly serves and sacrifices for others. The way to the top in Jesus’ kingdom is to descend into greater levels of servanthood here in this world.
Dedicate Yourself To Putting Others First Think of all the ways that a “me-first” mindset is demonstrated among people: “I want my preferences honored.” “I want things done my way.” “What about me?” “What about my ideas?” Jesus went to great lengths to convince his disciples that a “me first” mindset had to be exchanged for an “others first” mindset. Jesus teaches that living a life of self-preoccupation and self-absorption never leads to true satisfaction and joy. “Me-first” people face constant conflict and have difficulty establishing intimacy with others. But living an others-oriented life always leads to fulfillment and finding real purpose in life. The moment you decide to put others first, life gets a great deal more enjoyable – for everyone. “Look not to your interests only, but to the interests of others as well.” Philippians 2:4
I can’t really change the hierarchical structure in our chicken coup – nor do I want to. Chicken number one will most likely continue to be number one in the hen house. But the good news is, because of its prominent place at the feeding trough, it continues to get a little fatter each day. And that brings a little smile to my face every time I think about it. - - Being number one never pays off in the end. Follow the example of Jesus. Abandon the pecking order thing and serve Jesus by serving others.
Yours for His Glory,
PT
Earlier this year my wife decided she would like to have a few chickens around the house. The original idea was that they would provide insect control service around the yard, and eggs for breakfast. Now I’ve got to admit I’m really not all that into chickens - that is unless the chicken is joining me for supper! But the prospect of free eggs and a potential rotisserie dinner somewhere in the future finally won me over. So I turned our backyard shed into a chicken coup and my wife made the trip to the farmer’s coop for the little peeps. After getting them home I got a little concerned when I learned that the chickens were all given names. But it was reasoned to me that the given names were chosen to remind us of their ultimate purpose. (“chicken-fricassee,” “chicken-bar-b-q,” “chicken-alfredo.”) So I skeptically went along with the cute chicken names. But as the daily bird feedings turned into something like a visit to a petting zoo for my wife and daughter, I soon realized my chances of a succulent chicken dinner had probably flown the coup. So now we dutifully provide daily dinner for the birds instead of them providing dinner for us.
Now I’ve observed a rather well known phenomenon that occurs when it’s time to feed the chickens. Once the feed is thrown down I’ve noticed that the chickens have established a kind of dominance hierarchy. In everyday language we would say there is a “pecking order.” Chicken number one determines the best spot to stand as it feeds, and if any other bird infringes on its territory, it pecks it away. In turn, chicken number two gets to stand in what it perceives as the next best place to feed but it can’t invade chicken number one’s territory. If another chicken begins to infringe on chicken number two’s feeding space, it will peck it away. But chicken number two doesn’t go after chicken number one. It only goes after chickens that are further down the ladder than it is. And so on it goes, with each chicken finding its own place in this linear hierarchy - pecking the ones below, but not retaliating against the ones above it. It goes all the way down to chicken number nine (we only bought nine peeps) who unfortunately doesn’t have anyone to peck. I’m sure it must be very frustrating to be the lowest chicken on the totem pole. But there’s still hope for chicken number nine. Thanks to a hungry barn owl in the area, who apparently also has a taste for chicken, chicken number nine has recently moved up a couple of notches in the hierarchy. (Isn’t it nice to know we’re keeping all the birds in the area well fed!)
This pecking order thing is by no means unique to the animal kingdom. If you read the context of the verses above you’ll find that James and John are trying to posture for position in Jesus’ kingdom. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” (Mark 10:35-37) In other words, “We’d like to establish our position in the pecking order.” They crow, “We want to be big roosters in the kingdom!” In response to their request, Jesus gives the disciples a lesson on getting rid of this “me-first” mindset.
Abandon The Struggle To Be First “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to first, must be slave of all.” Jesus teaches us to stop being concerned about being number one. If you really want your Heavenly Father to take notice, work on being a servant. Our culture is pre-occupied with being “number one.” We want to be known as the number one singer, the number one business person, the number one at whatever it is we are doing. We want people to see us as the most athletic, the most educated, the most popular, and the most successful - all just different expressions of putting ourselves out in front of others. We want to rank high in the pecking order. We spend our lives trying to win the rat race. It’s the wrong race to run. And it’s exactly the opposite of what Jesus says is really important in his kingdom. If you really want to win in this world and the next, Jesus says abandon the struggle to be first and learn how to put others before yourself. Completely abandon the struggle to be first as a life goal. Instead make it your goal to serve others. Who wants to win the rat race anyway? I don’t know who will ultimately win the rat race, but I do know this; It will definitely be a rat.
Commit Yourself To A Life Of Servanthood “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.” Surely if anyone had the right to demand service it would have been the glorious Son of God. But Christ said everything about his life pointed to the fact that it was not about others serving him, but about him serving others. In God’s economy, the way to the top is exactly the opposite of what the world requires. Worldly leadership moves upward and then demands authority, power and others to serve. Christian leadership is oriented downward, and demonstrates humility and gladly serves and sacrifices for others. The way to the top in Jesus’ kingdom is to descend into greater levels of servanthood here in this world.
Dedicate Yourself To Putting Others First Think of all the ways that a “me-first” mindset is demonstrated among people: “I want my preferences honored.” “I want things done my way.” “What about me?” “What about my ideas?” Jesus went to great lengths to convince his disciples that a “me first” mindset had to be exchanged for an “others first” mindset. Jesus teaches that living a life of self-preoccupation and self-absorption never leads to true satisfaction and joy. “Me-first” people face constant conflict and have difficulty establishing intimacy with others. But living an others-oriented life always leads to fulfillment and finding real purpose in life. The moment you decide to put others first, life gets a great deal more enjoyable – for everyone. “Look not to your interests only, but to the interests of others as well.” Philippians 2:4
I can’t really change the hierarchical structure in our chicken coup – nor do I want to. Chicken number one will most likely continue to be number one in the hen house. But the good news is, because of its prominent place at the feeding trough, it continues to get a little fatter each day. And that brings a little smile to my face every time I think about it. - - Being number one never pays off in the end. Follow the example of Jesus. Abandon the pecking order thing and serve Jesus by serving others.
Yours for His Glory,
PT
posted by Larry | 5:37 PM
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