“For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe (judgment is coming) to that man by whom He is betrayed and handed over!” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this. Now a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was regarded to be the greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles have absolute power and lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not to be this way with you; on the contrary, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest [and least privileged], and the [one who is the] leader, like the servant. (Luke 22:22-26 NASB)
Who is going to benefit from today’s meditation? I would suspect that there are a lot of people who will find the wisdom to be shared beneficial. This includes best friends who start debating over who is the Greatest of All-Time in some professional sport, a gathering of teens or young adults who are in a contest over a difference of opinions on a variety of topics, husbands and wives who regretfully revisit something in the past that has no real significance anymore, team members or even coaching staff members who are trying to pinpoint who caused their team to lose a game, best friends who pledged that nothing would ever come between their friendship but it did, co-workers who are in an impromptu meeting to talk about ways to increase productivity and heighten efficiency, barbershop and beauty shop talks about the content of the Scriptures, two youth who can’t settle a dispute and if they violence is on the horizon and they could end up on the morning news in the regular lead-off, “bad news” story.
Who else will benefit from today’s meditation? Today this wisdom is for the constant critic, and the one who thinks it’s cute to be the “devil’s advocate” guilty of exacerbating and disturbing a peaceful gathering. Still more people can benefit from this meditation, even church folks who are planning an event to celebrate an achievement, an accomplishment, or an anniversary, etc., and the interacting duo consisting of a customer and a customer relations representative. The list goes on and if the truth be known, we will have to admit that what I am about to show you is relevant to you somehow and someway. Yes, you are included in the “need to know” privileged group. This morning. I’ll be brief now and do some sharing.
There is a lot to see in the verses above; the disciples focusing on self, versus the suffering that Christ will face in a matter of days. Also, one can see how ego interferes with our calling as disciples. Add to that, the fact that we can see that when the Lord is speaking, in our text directly, and in our time through the spoken word sent by the Sovereign God through a specific messenger, we should cease from filtering and concentrate on focusing on the specific message God has sent.
As you will agree, there is a lot to see in the opening verses. However, I think it is imperative to share the following piece of wisdom; reiterating it for some and revealing it as fresh to others. It is important for it will eliminate discussions from elevating to situations that have an ending that ranges from ruining one’s day to ruining ones life, or even robbing one of the joy of life, or literally life itself.
You have waited long enough! So, here’s the wisdom in a sequential formula: (1) Discussions will occur. (2) Discussions can lead to debate if we are not on guard to keep that from happening by applying godly principles we have learned. (3) Dangerous times can develop and this where we see division and disastrous happenings. (4) There is one most important thing we must inject in the sequence, the most relevant thing to do, for you and for me. Let Christ enter the dispute and set things straight. Yes, put Jesus’ teaching into the dynamics that have arose to a tense stage. By doing so, dangerous times, ranging from discord to devastating bad things at a higher degree can be averted, circumvented.
Well, I don’t just hope you got a thought this morning, but I hope you are inspired. I hope you see this as profitable to you and others who you will share this wisdom from the word to benefit their lives. We really can’t keep it to ourselves. Have a great, dispute free, dangerous time free, and Divine aided, safe Saturday! How do you do the latter? Put Christ in the midst of your discussions from the get-go! You’ll hear from me tomorrow before you go to worship! Be blessed!
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King