Matthew 20:20-28: Can't Give Away My Future Because It Is Not Mine

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:20-28

It is a story that has often been told where the servant who overthrows their cruel master ends up being just as cruel as the master that they have replaced. While they may vow to do things differently, they find that the same pressures which formed their former master also tend to shape them into the same type of person. The ones who they formerly classed as comrades in the great struggle to obtain freedom are re-cast as rivals or subordinates once that freedom has been obtained. 

Why is that? I think it is because we actually don't know what to do with freedom. We've only seen power handled a certain way and, try as we might, we respond the same way when power is ours. The powerless are envious while those with power believe that it is rightly theirs.

But Jesus showed a different way. Power was within his easy grasp. But he chose instead to become a servant, putting his own interests after those of other people, even the other people who would not even appreciate what he did. Jesus recognized that having power also means having power to choose a different path. He did not feel diminished by what he gave away.

I find it difficult to follow in the same path. I reason to myself, "I am not Jesus. He could give it away, because after he gave power away, he was still God."  But the truth is, that being one of God's children, I also am not diminished by what I give away--not because I am God, but because God has my back. Giving away control leaves me without power but still leaves me exactly where God said he would put me. I can't give that away because my future is not mine, it is his. 

Titus 2:10: Serving the Next

My job provides an environment that helps others thrive. We make software-software that other engineers customize to make their computer motherboards work. People use those computers to a million different things. It isn't fancy--if we're successful, you don't even know that our software exists. It just works. Software is like this--it isn't a glory job. I've often compared it to solving crossword puzzles--mentally stimulating but not terribly important in the grand scheme of things (see here).

I like to think that I write beautiful code. Elegant, even. Not just me: there is a book called Beautiful Code, but the audience for that beauty is limited. Much like one painter admiring the technique of another--brush strokes, color palette, use of materials. Or one pianist marveling at the fingering of a difficult passage of Chopin. Or a craftsman appreciating the joins on a piece of fine furniture. God is genius. There is nothing I invent or discover in software that will surprise him. Instead, he delights in my seeking out of the beauty he placed in creation--even in software--before the foundations of the world.

The best art highlights truth and multiplies impact. The art is not the truth itself. Rather it is a sort of truth wrapper, by which truth is emphasized and delivered. Church architecture can lift the gaze heavenward, teach the core stories of the faith, carry the voice of the teacher and singer and encourage community. Well-designed cars convey speed or stability or prestige while enabling speedy or comfortable travel.

Likewise, the best software highlights truth and multiplies impact. Consider the average auditorium: the air is processed by software, the sound is processed by software, the visuals are provided by software. You don't (and should not) marvel at the quality of the picture reproduction, the comfort level of the room's temperature and humidity or the fidelity of the audio (unless you are the production engineer). Rather, these are environmental wrappers for the message being delivered by the speaker giving the speech.

Sometimes it is hard to see the beauty because there is no direct line of sight between what you create and what is eventually created by someone else. It's hard to see the Ferrari when you build the fuel filter. It's hard to see the supercomputer when all you write (as I do) code on a chip that takes less than a square centimeter, holds less than 1 megabyte (1000th of a gigabyte) and costs less than 25 cents. But there is a different type of beauty that God has shown me: not just the beauty of the finished product, but the beauty of serving the next.

Serving the next is saying: "How can what I make better serve the next person who uses it?" and "How can what I do better serve the next person who experiences it?" I don't know many of the engineers who use my code. But I do know that I can serve them by making my code easier to use, more robust and simpler to use. They may never notice what I did any more than you noticed how clean the bathroom was in the last hotel room you stayed in. But it is still beautiful. It is still praising God. I am creating an environment where in some little way, another person can thrive.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - Colossians 3:23-24

We must be careful because we can twist this out of mixed motives. One way this gets distorted is watching outcomes or calculating return on investment. That is, we often improve what we do so that people will pay us more money or look on us more favorably or judge whether the effort is worth it. As Jesus said, "And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that." (Luke 6:33)

In creating beauty through serving we are reaping the real benefit and creating the real beauty: the inner life transformed by God "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

"But...I need that outcome." Like a salary. Or sleep. Sure. We depend on others who, in turn, serve us--whether it is our company, our customers, our families or our friends. But our paychecks come from God and he has called for lives "so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive" (Titus 2:10b)

Follow Up on "Lest We Forget"

So right after I post on making teaching memorable, I really struggled in teaching the parable of the "Workers in the Vineyards" (Matt. 20:1-16) The basics of the story are easy. A clock, 20 eager K-2nd graders, and some Monopoly money made the story visible, physical and interactive. But the application. Working in the idea of envy, especially "spiritual" envy was tough and I didn't give it enough time, prayer and thought. Took a nap instead. Looking back, I know it means that I don't know the story well enough yet (per my own axiom). And, perhaps I am too content to rest on my ability to wing it.

The most profound thing said last night during that time was from Addie, a little girl I asked to pray. Though maybe few heard her, I did. She prayed eloquently for the protection of the children of Haiti and that Satan be restrained from them.  That stuck in my mind.

Next week, I'll teach the parable of the tares and the wheat. Any ideas for getting the application across?