September 20: Mark 9:33-37
 
Key Verse: Mark 9:34
But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
 
Devotion:
How many times have you stretched the truth so you can be 'better' than everyone else? I can remember doing this on multiple occasions when I was young, and then thinking I would grow out of it as I got older... but the temptation is always there to stretch the truth so we can seem better than we are!
 
When the disciples did not want to admit what they were arguing about, it was because of this situation – they were trying to prove they were better than others. Instead of pulling them up about it and telling them off, Jesus simply told them what they should have been doing. Another trait we should learn and follow Jesus with!
 
We don't have to tell people off all the time so they can 'learn the right way,' we should be showing them the right way and allowing them to make the choice. Jesus wanted the disciples to learn from example and not from being constantly told off for doing things wrong. We have enough people in our lives who tell us what not to do, but not enough people who are willing to show us the right ways of doing things to encourage us in the right path.
 
Jesus wants us to not build ourselves up to show others they are not as good as us, but to lower ourselves to a position where we can lift others up and show them how good they could be if they chose to be! This is what Christ does to and for us all the time!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you tell people off all the time?
 
Will you try to build someone up today instead?