In God’s sight, greatness is marked by a humble, servant’s heart.

神眼中的伟大，是以一颗谦卑的仆人的心为标志。

Bible commentator R.C.H. Lenski once wrote that God’s “great men are not sitting on top of lesser men, but bearing lesser men on their backs.” Jesus would have agreed with Lenski’s observation, but He did not see it as wrong to desire greater usefulness to God. Those standards of usefulness, however, are much more demanding than any worldly ideals for self-serving, domineering leadership. For example, Paul lists for us the high standards God has for church overseers (1 Tim. 3:1-7). God considers men great who are among those willing to be servants.

解经家 R.C.H. 伦斯基曾写道，神眼中“伟大的人不是坐在较渺小的人群头上，而是将这些渺小的人背在自己背上。”耶稣会赞同伦斯基的观点，但他不认为渴望对神有更大用处有什么不对。然而，那些有用的标准，却比任何属世的自私自利、专横跋扈的领导观念所要求的多得多。举例来说，保罗为我们列举了神对于教会监督应具备的崇高标准（提前3：1-7）。神认为伟大的人在那些愿意作仆人的人中间。

In Matthew 20:26-27, Jesus was speaking of genuine servanthood, not the “public servant” who merely uses his position to gain power and personal prestige. The original Greek word for “servant” referred to a person who did menial labor and was the lowest level of hired help. Jesus could have used a more noble word to denote obedient discipleship, but He picked this one (from which we get deacon) because it best described the selfless humility of one who served.

在马太福音20：26-27，耶稣在说真正的仆人，不是那些利用自己位置攫取权势和个人威望的“公仆”。 “仆人”一词的希腊原文，是指做着卑微的工作，且是最低等级的受雇者。耶稣本可以用一个更高贵的词语来表示顺服的门徒，他却选了这个词（执事一词便源于此），因它是对一个服侍的人无私谦卑的最佳描述。

But in verse 27, Jesus intensifies His description of God’s way to greatness. He tells us if we want to be great in His kingdom, we must be willing to be slaves. Whereas servants had some personal freedom, slaves were owned by their masters and could go only where their masters allowed and do only what their masters wanted. The application for us as believers is that “whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8).

而在27节，耶稣更加强了他对于通往伟大的神之方法的描述。他告诉我们，如果我们想在神的国度为大，我们就必须愿意作奴隶。仆人还有一定的个人自由，然而奴隶却隶属于主人，只能去主人容许去的地方，做主人要他做的事情。作为信徒，应用在我们身上就是，“我们或活或死，总是主的人”（罗14：8）。

If you desire real spiritual greatness, you will be willing to work in the hard place, the lonely place, the place where you’re not appreciated. You’ll be willing to strive for excellence without becoming proud, and to endure suffering without getting into self-pity. It is to these godly attitudes and more that Christ will say, “Well done, good and faithful slave . . . enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21).

如果你渴慕真实的属灵的伟大，你必会愿意工作在艰苦的地方，在孤独的地方，在你不被欣赏的地方。你必会愿意追求卓越而不变得骄傲，忍受痛苦而不陷入自怜。就是对这些属天的态度以及更多的，基督会说：“好，你这又良善又忠心的仆人……进来享受你主人的快乐”（太25：21）。

Ask the Lord to help you cultivate a servant’s heart.

求主帮助你培养出一颗仆人的心。

Read 1      Timothy 3:1-7 and make a list of the qualifications for an overseer      (elder).

阅读提摩太前书3：1-7，列出一个监督（长老）所应具备的资格清单。

Meditate on the implications of      each trait, and write down ways in which humility relates to these leadership      qualities.

阅读提摩太前书3：1-7，列出一个监督（长老）所应具备的资格清单。

反复揣摩每项品质的含义，并写下谦卑与这些领袖素质各方面的关联。