Part 3: Falling Off the High Horse
Status-seeking disciples, church conflict, and the path back to glory
If you want proof that status is hard to kill, look at the disciples.
They walked with Jesus. Ate with Jesus. Heard Him predict His death. And they still argued about who was greatest.
Repeatedly.
The disciples were obsessed with rank
One of the most consistent arguments among them was:
“Who is the greatest?” (Matt 18:1, Luke 9:46, Mark 9:33-34).
James and John asked for the best seats. (Mark 10: 35-37).
Then, apparently, they got their mom involved. (Matthew 20)
And when the other disciples heard, they got indignant. (Mark 10:41)
They argued about status just hours before Jesus was to be arrested and killed. (Luke 22:24).
Why? Because they were more spiritual? No.
Because they wanted those seats too.
This is painfully modern.
Churches can be full of sincere believers… who still quietly measure:
- Who gets listened to
- Who gets thanked
- Who gets consulted
- Who gets credit
- Who gets platformed
- Who gets their way
Jesus’ response never changes
“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35, Matt 23:11, Luke 22:26).
He’s not romanticizing being overlooked. He’s redefining greatness.
A servant empowers others to do what God has called them to do.
Greatness is not climbing above people. Greatness is building beneath them.
Two main ways we chase status
1) We try to earn it.
We People-Please. Perform. Impress. Excel. Serve loudly or subtly, hoping someone notices and elevates us. We earn our way up the food chain.
Sometimes it looks spiritual: “I’d never brag.”
But we’ll still try to impress the snot out of people so they promote us.
2) If we can’t rise, we try to lower others.
We criticize. Correct. Compare. Gossip. Slander.
It’s emotional gravity: “If I can’t climb higher, I’ll pull you down, so I feel less small.”
“You are just as bad as I am – maybe worse.”
And it’s poison to everyone in the community.
The two roads, and the two endings
Jesus describes it with frightening clarity:
- Exalt yourself → you will be humbled.
- Humble yourself → you will be exalted.
Status-seeking ends the same way every time: You fall off your horse. You hit the ground. And sometimes, our landing is hard – directly in the poop.
You can be clever, gifted, persuasive, and even “successful.” But the status engine eventually eats itself.
A word for elders, leaders, and churches
Philippians gives an elder-sized challenge:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit… look to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:4)
Leadership in the world is often about being the person with the plan, the answers, the control.
But leadership like Jesus (Phil 2: 2-7) requires a different skill set:
- Yielding
- Listening
- Mutual Honor
- Shared Authority
- Oneness
And oneness is where glory lives.
If a congregation wants God’s presence to rest, leaders cannot treat status lightly. Elder teams, leaders, and influencers cannot treat yielding as optional.
This is the deep work of maturing in character.
How to turn around
John gives a simple doorway: If we confess, He forgives and cleanses. (I John 1: 8-10).
Confession isn’t self-hate. It’s truth-telling:
“God, I see it. I rank people. I crave esteem. I defend myself. I compare. I resent. I posture.”
And then cleansing isn’t just pardon, it’s transformation:
New eyes.
Not “How do I compare with others?”
But “How do I empower others?”
The invitation
We have a King with no use for status.
A King who went from endless glory to a cradle in the dirt.
And He invites us into His way:
Downward in love, upward in glory.
Not hoarding.
Not grasping.
Not climbing.
Serving, yielding, becoming one.
That’s where good God stuff happens.
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