An Alternative Greatness

It doesn't get any plainer and more bizarre than this...

We live in a world that urges us to strive for greatness, and well we should. We know what greatness looks like in achievement, success, leadership, power and influence, appearance, etc. Nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. However, enter Jesus and we enter a completely new definition of greatness. Here it is...not my words, but the words of one infinitely greater in faith than me:

"Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead he lived a selfless, obedient life, and then died a selfless, obedient death - and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion." (Philippians 2:6-8, The MESSAGE; emphasis mine.)

Self-emptying as a path to greatness? And Jesus didn't do this for us just so we could be saved and also enjoy the blessings of success by the standards of this world. We are to be like him, and seek the same kind of alternative definition of greatness; a "first shall be last, last shall be first" greatness. What do you think about that? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.