“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12

Many people want to be great in God’s kingdom, just as long as they don’t have to be a slave of anyone. They say they want to serve God, provided it doesn’t inconvenience them. Really, this is just pride.

Jesus tells us if you want to be great, make yourself the least. You want to get exalted, humble yourself and be the slave of all. It is backwards to the way we are prone to think, but it is how God chooses his servants. He looks at the heart, and He is looking for humble hearts. Hearts that will always give Him the glory; if you have the heart of a servant then you will have no problem not getting the credit.

I was once told by a very wise missionary what the most dangerous sin is for those that want to serve God. Most of us think the worst sin for someone in the ministry is to be caught in adultery, or to find out that they were embezzling church funds. He told me that actually the worst sin is pride, because it is the one sin that will disqualify you from the ministry. God doesn’t resist you if you struggle with lust (instead He strengthens you), He doesn’t resist you if you struggle with greed (instead He strengthens you), but He will resist the proud (James 4:6).

Are you struggling but want to serve God? That’s OK. All you have to do is repent and humble yourself and ask for grace, and God will give it. Humble yourself and ask for strength to live rightly, and God will gladly give it. He can get much more glory out of using you, since all will know it was God who worked. Maybe your struggling with pride, the above is still true.

Are you prideful and think more highly of yourself then you ought? You disqualify yourself. God resists you. Until you humble yourself you cannot be great.

So which will it be? Will you exalt yourself or will you let God exalt you?