There was a man from Maury County, Tennessee, who served during the entirety of the Civil War in Co. H of the 1st Tennessee Infantry in Confederate service. As he looked back over his experience many years later, Sam Watkins made this revealing comment, "I always shot at privates. It was they that did the shooting and killing, and if I could kill or wound a private, why, my chances were so much the better. I always looked upon officers as harmless personages."
However one may feel about the grisly business of war with its burden upon the front line soldier to shoot at the enemy in close combat, one must still admit that Pvt. Watkins recognized something of basic importance. Ultimately in an army it is the common soldier, the ordinary rifleman, who gets the job done and wins the victory. Although honor and glory are heaped upon the general who plans and directs the battle, it is the united effort of thousands of basic soldiers who bring success. If those men fail, the general also fails, no matter how ingenious his plan.
There seems to be a primal urge in certain people to be first in an organization so that their voice will carry weight and their position command respect. To be the object of praise, admiration, and even fear, is often considered to be the pinnacle of achievement. People thus covet the role of leader, commander, president, governor, or king. The desire to have people serve them in their high position is one of the greatest attractions in holding it. At the top one feels relieved of the mundane tasks that are ugly, fatiguing, and sometimes humiliating.
It was in this attitude that the apostles James and John came before Jesus with their mother as advocate to make the audacious request that He grant the two highest positions in His kingdom to them. Not only was this request presumptuous, but it also disregarded the place of Jesus' other apostles. It is therefore not surprising that "when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers," (v.24). The scramble to be first in something nearly always provokes jealousy and competition in others who hold the same ambition and think they are better fit to achieve it. To prevent this from happening among his disciples and fracturing their unity, Jesus called them aside and taught them the lesson of true greatness.
He told them, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave," (vs. 25-27). Then He pointed to Himself as their example: "Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many," (v.28). The pathway to true greatness and honor in the Lord's kingdom lies in the way of rendering basic service in the Lord's name. Jesus could have come among the rich, but He came among the poor. He could have lounged in regal splendor while others did the menial tasks, but He chose instead to walk the dusty roads, sail the stormy sea, touch the unclean leper, weep with those who wept, and incur the hatred of those who opposed the establishment of His kingdom. As Jesus' disciples today, we should be concerned about truly serving as many people as we can in Jesus' name. We must resist the temptation to get in front to lead, leaving the "dirty work" to those behind who must be content to follow. In truth, only Jesus is first in the church. All the rest of us must follow behind Him, and it is we who must humbly serve.
