QUIT HELPING OUT
By Chris Sonksen
By Nature We Are Radically
Self-Absorbed
Your church has places for you to
serve, and Christ wants you to serve
there. This may not be a normal thing
where you work or maybe even with the
friends you associate with. Maybe that
was the problem with the disciples.
They didn’t grow up in church, so the
idea of serving others through the body
of Christ was foreign to them. People
around them were very self-absorbed:
religious leaders, tax collectors, and
high-ranking officials were all out
for themselves. Knowing this, Jesus
took advantage of the moment and
responded to the disciples’ selfishness
by saying this:
You know that the rulers in this
world lord it over their people, and
officials flaunt their authority over
those under them. But among you it
will be different. Whoever wants to
be a leader among you must be your
servant, and whoever wants to be
first among you must be the slave
of everyone else. For even the Son
of Man came not to be served but to
serve others and to give his life as a
ransom for many. (Mark 10:42–45)
Did you catch what Jesus says there?
He points out to the disciples that
many people around them flaunt their
authority and do not serve others but
only serve themselves. Then he says,
“But among you it will b