30 January 2024

More Goodness and Less Greatness

by Carl McRoy | 30 January 2024 |

Why is the hero of one of Jesus’ most famous stories the Good Samaritan, rather than the Great Samaritan? After all, the Samaritan was the role model for what loving your neighbor looks like. Isn’t that deserving of the title “great”?

Think about the “Greats” of history and ask yourself: what do they have in common? Here’re a few to consider:

Ramses the Great of Egypt;
Cyrus the Great of Persia;
Alexander the Great of Greece;
Herod the Great of Judea;
Constantine the Great of Rome;
Frederick the Great of Prussia;
Catherine the Great of Russia;
Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Dynasty.

Which of those “greats” became great by being good? What was the human cost, the body count, of their greatness? Who among them ascended to greatness without the crimson-soaked patronage of mass manipulation and brutality?

Would the naked roadside victim in Luke 10 have survived an encounter with the “Greats” of this world? Is it possible that he was left for dead by people seeking worldly greatness?

I think this world needs more goodness and less greatness.

As good as gold

In Genesis chapter 1, God saw “that it was good” six times in a row during creation week. The closest He came to labeling something great was when He looked at the totality of everything He made and saw that it was “very good.”
Genesis 2:12 says that the gold found near Eden was “good,” rather than great.
Proverbs 22:1 declares, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold” (NKJV).
Psalm 100:5 echoes, “For the LORD,” Himself, “is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”
Once a man complimented Jesus with the title, Good Teacher. Jesus raised the stakes of goodness by responding, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (Mark 10:18).
Romans 2:4 says it’s the goodness, not the greatness, of God that leads us to repentance.
Ephesians 2:10 teaches that God’s grace not only saves us, but recreates us for “good works.”
Galatians 5:22 lists goodness as a fruit (or evidence) of the Spirit’s presence in our lives, but greatness doesn’t make honorable mention.

Arguing for greatness and missing goodness

When Jesus’ disciples were arguing about who would be the greatest, He warned them that their ambitions were misdirected. Their energies were misplaced because of whose presence they were in; because they didn’t understand true greatness; and because of what Jesus was announcing while they were arguing.

Imagine arguing over greatness when standing next to the One who cast out demons, calmed stormy seas, and canceled funerals by waking the dead. Imagine arguing over greatness in the shadow of One whose mere presence humbled a Roman centurion and haunted a legion of demons. Imagine arguing over greatness within earshot of One who said mere goodness is beyond human grasp!

If they knew what greatness was, they wouldn’t have wanted it. In Matthew 20:20-28 James and John and their mother asked Jesus to grant them greatness. The other disciples were greatly displeased, because they too were grasping for greatness. Their idea of greatness was based on a scarcity mindset: a zero-sum game that assumes one’s elevation is only possible by another’s degradation. Jesus taught the opposite. Godly greatness comes by humbly serving others for their benefit rather than haughtily saddling them for your own desires. Jesus told them, “You don’t know what you are asking.”

On another occasion (Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48) Jesus interrupted the greatness debate by holding a little child by His side to show them that true greatness lies in the adventurous yet trusting attitudes of children. Unless Jesus’ followers embraced and emulated children, they would be least in the kingdom. They still didn’t get it. Or, they refused to get it.

Do we get it yet?

They wanted greatness, but couldn’t see the cross

Not only did the disciples frequently strive for delusional greatness, but it was at the worst times. In all the examples above, their cacophonic quest for greatness came in the context of Jesus announcing His journey to the cross. In fact, this controversy even contaminated the first communion (Luke 22:14-27). The cross was Jesus’ purpose for coming the first time—the foundation of the Good News—yet His messengers missed the message.

Have we learned anything in 2,000 years as we anticipate the consummation of the Gospel? Are modern Christians causing such commotion in our push for greatness that we are muffling Christ’s petitions for us to embody goodness?

Carl McRoy is an ordained minister in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, host of Message magazine’s “Your Liberation Library,” and author of Yell at God and Live, R U Tuff Enuff? and Impediments to Power. He enjoys quality time with family, posing as an amateur historian, and shooting pool.