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Compare Matthew 23:11; Mark 9:35; Luke 12:50; 22:24-27; 9:48; John 13:4-5, 12-17
These are powerful verses. They condemn the almost omnipresent and well nigh irresistible human anxiety about status, the perpetual quest for prestige.
They offer grounds for continual self-examination:
Are we doing good for its own sake, or to seem good to others? Do we care about the truth, or about academic prestige? Do we want the new car or new house because its features would be useful, or because we want to impress others? Do we want to give a good talk because we want to edify the Saints and build the Kingdom, or because we want to be well thought of? And on and on and on.
Are we proud of our humility?
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