Welcome to Day 1617 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Need for Status – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. Our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, seek out discernment and insights, and boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend; this is Gramps. Thanks for coming along on our trek to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Proverbs 16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, and sound judgment than silver!  Today is Day 1617 of our Trek, and it’s time for another nugget of wisdom, which includes an inspirational quote along with some wise words from Gramps for today’s trek. If you apply the words you hear today, over time, it will help you become more healthy, wealthy, and wise as you continue your daily trek of life. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget:

Today’s quote is from   Calvin Miller, and it is:  Careers, even religious careers, may become little more than forums for our own advancement. But how are we to deal with such ambition? Our longing after Christ must exceed our need for status in the world.

Need for Status

All of us crave to be accepted by others. Most of us yearn to have a level of status among our work associates, peers, friends, and family. It appears to be a burning need in our lives. I acknowledge that I struggle with the need for status, and it probably applies to you also. No career or leadership position is exempt, even pastors, priests, missionaries, and lay leaders within the church. For all of us who are Christ-followers, how do we reconcile this need for status with our desire to image God, as the perfect imager Jesus Christ did? In the New Testament Scripture, we certainly see that Jesus’s closest companions and disciples struggled with the need for status. Think about the epic struggles and posturing between the ‘inner circle’ of the disciples, Peter, James, and John. Think about the 12 sons of Jacob in the Old Testament who were constantly in a struggle for status to the point where they were willing to sell their brother Joseph into slavery. We are not immune to the same battle.  As with any area of life, the first step to overcome our intense need for status is to acknowledge that it is an issue and that we desire to become less controlled by it. As Christ-followers and fellow imagers of God, our desire to fulfill those roles must be stronger than our need for status in the world. It may not be easy, but it is possible. If we desire to serve effectively in God’s kingdom on earth, we need to be willing to serve humbly.

Mark 9:33-37

After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” 

Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

As you ponder another bit of wisdom from Gramps, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’

If you would like to listen to any of our past 1616 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most of all, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you Tomorrow for more daily wisdom!