⁴⁶An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

⁴⁹John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

Luke 9:46-50 (ESV)

It’s amazing how quickly ministry can become about the minister. Pride is such a sneaky sin that even in the midst of ‘godly’ activity – and often especially in the midst of ‘godly’ activity – it creeps in.

As this passage from Luke 9 shows, the lure of self-centered ministry was often too much to resist for Jesus’ twelve disciples. Their pride is evident in two ways.

First, they wanted to be the greatest. They had access to the One who came to serve, they saw ministry as a ladder to climb to greatness. Sound familiar? An honest evaluation of our motives often reveals a desire to gain notoriety or at least praise from our ministry efforts. At this point ministry is about our glory, not God’s.

Second, they wanted to protect the exclusivity of their ‘calling.’ They wanted to stop people who were not part of their circle from engaging in their brand of ministry. Again, sound familiar? At some level we all like to think we’re participating in some unique type of ministry. At this point ministry is about our glory, not God’s.

For whose glory do you minister?