In Matthew 20 there is an interesting scene. The mother of two of Jesus’ apostles comes up to Jesus and asks him for a favor. The scene is interesting for several reasons. James and John’s mother asks Jesus to give her sons special positions of authority and honor in Jesus’ kingdom. Now Jesus corrects her, and their misunderstanding. But things get worse when Jesus’ other apostles hear about their request. Jesus sees the opportunity to teach his followers about leadership and authority, so he says the following:
‘You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.’ (Taken from the Message.)
Let’s conform our expectations to Christ’s expectations. Clearly, Christ wants the leaders of his church to serve his people. We should be satisfied with nothing less.