What is The Jehovah Witness’ Proper View Of Greatness?
About 300 miles south of Cairo, near the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, stands a 60-foot- tall statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep who is jesus III. Looking up at that immense monument was doubtlessly meant to inspire awe of the ruler and is a symbol of the world’s view of greatness – that of making oneself appear as big and important as possible while making others feel insignificant.
If we contrast this view of greatness with what Jesus Christ has taught us, we see that although he was the “Lord and Teacher” of his followers, he taught them that true greatness comes from serving others. On the last day of his life on earth, Jesus demonstrated the meaning of what he taught by washing his disciples’ feet. This, from the Son of God, was a humble act of service indeed.
greatness was expressed thusly in Daniel 4: 30: “Is not this Babylon the great, that i myself have built for the royal house with the strength of my might and for the dignity of my majesty? ” Then there is proud Herod Agrippa I, who accepted unwarranted glory for himself instead of giving glory to God. He was eaten up with worms and expired. ” (Acts 12: 21-23)Failure to appreciate Jehovah’s view of greatness led each of these men to their ultimate downfall.
It is proper for us to want to use our life in a way that brings us honor and respect. Yet, Satan exploits this desire by fostering a prideful spirit, which is a reflection of his own ambitions. (Matt 4: 8, 9) Never forget that he is “the god of this system of things, ” and is determined to promote his thinking here on the earth. One idea he promotes is that a big name in the world, accolades from men, and pockets full of money automatically result in a happy life. Is that true? Most of us know – some, from personal experience – that this is actually the opposite from the truth. Achievement, recognition, and wealth guarantee only a life filled with the need to continue seeking more or risk losing all. The Bible cautions us not to be deluded by such thinking. Wise King Solomon wrote: “I myself have seen all the hard work and all the proficiency in work, that it means the rivalry of one toward another; this also is vanity and a striving after the wind. ”
Within the congregation, all Christians, young and old, should seek to cultivate the Christ-like view of greatness. In the Kingdom Hall, a variety of tasks must be performed. Never resent being asked to do things that may appear to be lowly. Parents, do you encourage your children to work cheerfully at any assignment that they are given to do? Do they see you perform lowly tasks? One brother, who now serves at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, vividly recalls his parents’ example. He said: “The way they treated the job of cleaning the Kingdom Hall or a convention center told me that they considered it to be important. They often volunteered to perform tasks that were for the good of the congregation or the brotherhood, no matter how menial those tasks might appear to be. This attitude has helped me to accept willingly any work assignment here at Bethel. “Many benefits come to us when we maintain a Christ-like view of greatness. Unselfishly serving others brings joy both to those we serve and to us. And as we willingly and eagerly labor in behalf of our brothers, we endear ourselves to them. (Acts 20: 37) More important, Jehovah sees what we are doing to promote the welfare of fellow Christians and views our actions as a pleasing sacrifice of praise to him. -Philip 2: 17. Each of us needs to make sure he does more than pay only lip service to cultivating Christ’s view of greatness, by working diligently to put it into practice.
So then, what is the proper view of greatness? We have seen earlier how Jehovah dealt swiftly and decisively with the vain and haughty. May our actions show that we delight in manifesting the Christ-like view of greatness, whether it is in the Christian congregation, in our family life, or in our day-to-day dealings with fellow humans… by doing all things to God’s glory and praise. In this way we shall always be pleasing to our Lord Jehovah, for should this not be the greatness we truly seek?