Part 1: The Status Engine: Why we keep ranking ourselves… even when we swear we’re not
There’s a line from a Christmas song that grabbed me by the collar and wouldn’t let go:
“From a throne of endless glory… to a cradle in the dirt.”
That phrase is a theological gut-punch. Because it forces a question most of us avoid: what kind of King voluntarily leaves infinite glory for a birth scene that smells like livestock?
And it also exposes something in us. Something old, reflexive, and stubborn.
Status.
What is status?
Status is a person’s position or rank compared to others in a society, organization, or group. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It’s the invisible ladder we all pretend we’re not climbing.
Status whispers two questions constantly:
- Where do I fit?
- Where do I rank?
Every group has a “food chain.” The jungle has a lion. The ocean has a great white. The workplace has a pecking order. Churches do too… even if we baptize it with nicer vocabulary.
The status reflex
Here’s what’s wild: research suggests we make status judgments almost instantly, in a fraction of a second, just by seeing a face. Research using fMRI and facial recognition demonstrates that judgments related to status occur in less than 1/5 of a second upon seeing someone’s face. That’s about the speed of a quick blink of an eye, and much faster than conscious thought. Before logic clocks in, the status engine is already running.
And once it starts, it becomes our background app:
- Are they above me?
- Are they below me?
- Do I need to impress them?
- Do I need to protect myself from them?
The Parable of a horse named Hefty
Over Thanksgiving, we went horseback riding in Tennessee. My horse was named Dreamer, also known as Hefty. I can’t imagine why they assigned me the horse called Hefty, but there we were.
Although I wanted to mount up in the best tradition of the old west, the horse reminded me of something important: I have short legs. With my cowboy dreams fading fast, I used a ramp to reach the stirrups and climb into the saddle.
Once our trail ride began, I was riding along thinking, Ed, you are crushing this.
My horse is behaving. The lessons learned from my previous – and very limited - riding experiences came back to me. Other horses are snacking mid-ride. Grandkids are wobbling like sacks of laundry. And I’m silently congratulating myself as the obvious MVP of this trail ride.
And as I’m doing that, a little voice in my head says:
“You’re preaching on status soon. You know exactly what this is.”
I laughed out loud in agreement with that voice, but it didn’t stop my ego from inflating. Then, we finished the ride – time to dismount. I forgot an important detail: my short legs.
I tried to swing down confidently, but my foot didn’t find the ground. I slipped, fell off my horse, and landed in a heap near the horse’s back hooves.
And the thought that came to me as I hit the ground was basically: This is how status works.
Eventually, you fall off your high horse. (Thankfully, not into the piles of horse poop.)
Why status becomes destructive
Status isn’t only a petty personal quirk. It scales up into real harm.
Much violence, especially male-on-male violence, is rooted in status threats: disrespect, ego injury, dominance, retaliation, and saving face. It’s a brutal way of saying, “You tried to lower me, so I’ll destroy you.”
And inside relationships, status shows up as control, jealousy, possessiveness, and fear of abandonment. Often triggered by rejection or perceived disrespect.
Violence committed by women is often a response to long-term, built-up pressure from status-seeking men who use threats, violence, or sexual, physical, emotional, or verbal abuse to control their partners.
The search for status literally kills thousands of men and women every year.
That’s why Scripture keeps touching this nerve. Because status is not merely “out there.” It’s here. It’s been a raging epidemic since the days of Jesus and his disciples. It continues to poison the well within churches today.
James puts it plainly: For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. James 3:16, ESV.
He goes on to report: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. James 4:1-3, ESV.
And you can often spot status at work through what Paul calls:
- grumbling
- arguments
- complaining
Even our complaints against God can be status-shaped: “God, that’s not fair.”
Translation: “I deserve better treatment than this.”
A diagnostic question
If status is an internal engine, here’s a helpful question:
When I’m frustrated, what exactly feels threatened?
- My comfort?
- My control?
- My recognition?
- My reputation?
- My “right” to be treated as important?
That’s the status engine talking.
And the good news is this: Jesus doesn’t just expose it. He heals it.
In Part 2, we look at how.
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