“Ok, let’s try that again, but walking this time.” I watched the disgruntled first-grade class line up again, frustrated at missing the first few minutes of recess. The teachers would leave instructions when I came in to sub, and this teacher’s expectations were clear—the kids learned to walk to line up for recess, and if we ran in the classroom, we lined up again. I admired this teacher’s dedication to teaching six- and seven-year-olds to practice patience and self-control!

We all often want to be first and not last. And these feelings typically do not change as we get older. For example, it is easy in law school to feel like a race to the top of the chain. We are all aware that we are graded against each other on a curve, and we are all protective of our time, which feels stretched thin. I vividly remember a friend during my first year noting that sometimes, law students are so busy and preoccupied that we don’t even take the time to greet each other in the hallway.

Perhaps this is why Jesus challenges our desire to be first. In the race to the top, it is easy for us to overlook other people or to forget to make time for things that nourish our spirits and foster our relationship with God. In other words, in our bid to come in first, we can sacrifice the kinds of things that prepare us for the kingdom of God. Jesus flips this temptation on its head here. Instead, we should sacrifice the things that we think will help us come first in this world—time, wealth, stability, and status—to invest more fully in our preparation for heaven.