The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” [Matt 23:11-12 NIV]
When you think about it, the way we are called to live as Christians, representing the Kingdom of Heaven, is topsy-turvy compared to the way the rest of the world seems to live. Here are a few examples:
We see acts of spite and revenge everywhere. People want justice for the wrongs against them. Only natural. However, we are encouraged to forgive and keep on forgiving, turn the other cheek and let God do the vengeance and justice part.n (see Deut 32:35)
You see it through TV ads and the general attitude of many; look after number one, you are the most important person in the world. Yet, as Christians we are taught to put others before ourselves, to love others as ourselves, even to love our enemies. (see Gal 5:13-15)
The world wants to train us to be materialistic – to have the biggest TV, the nicest car, the fashionable clothes, etc. But God teaches us to be generous, to give away our possessions to those who need them more. We are to store up our treasures in heaven instead. (see Matt 6:19-21)
People want power and success. The general attitude is that you do what you have to do to get to the top, and don’t worry too much about who you tread on to get there. Yet, the Christian perspective is you become a leader by being a servant. You gain authority through humility.
Funny, isn’t it? But I like it this way. 🙂
Romancing The Rock 
This upside down & back to front attitude is great, and I think something we need to keep reminding ourselves of regularly or it’s all too easy, even in our Christian pursuits, to fall into the way the rest of the world does things.
Cheers,
Paula
It is so easy, Paula. Apparently if you look back fifty years or so, the standard in the world was higher than the standard in the church today. It just keeps slipping downhill – just a little behind the rate of the world. We need to live opposite to the world. 🙂