"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:4
I love this answer by Christ when he was asked who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Instead of explaining why that it was kind of a self-defeating question, or illustrating his own superiority, instead he taught a lesson. He also turned the whole competition on its head in an interesting way.
It reminds me of the story in Luke 14 about choosing to sit in a lower, less honorable seat at a feast so that you don't embarass yourself by being asked to move to the equivalent of the kid's table, but instead honor the people you are with, especially if you are asked to move to a more honorable seat: "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11).
Today, let's work on getting out of the racetrack mindset with regard to our fellow beings. If we try to think of life as a shared journey instead, where the goal is to get everyone to our destination, maybe we'll do more lifting up rather than pushing down, trying to get ahead.
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