If you want to be first

Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. "But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." - Mark 10:42-45 NASU

Jesus didn’t come to be served but to serve. We do our best to imitate Him. What if everywhere we go and everything we do, we go to serve and not be served? We no longer look at what I want and what I can get out of this. Instead, we go into every situation with the intention of giving. Even going to a restaurant where we are served, we intend to receive with a smile, with encouragement being a bright part of the day of the waiters and staff serving us.

Stop trying to be first in everything you do. Start putting others first wherever you go. Throughout the day, yield to everyone you encounter and put them before you. Placing others first isn’t easy. It’s going to cost you. It would help if you set a margin in your schedule to accommodate all you serve first. Jesus was an important man with a schedule to keep. Jesus had a specific agenda. But He had enough margin to accommodate the unexpected divine appointments. Jesus was always about His Father’s business but had enough sense to discern when an interruption to the schedule was still the Father’s business.