Do not think that Marion Jones is the only person who has cheated, or lied, or cut corners, or broken the rules in order to get ahead. Some students cheat at school. Some workers cheat on the job. Some politicians cheat in their official offices. They are all driven by the same impulse – they all want to move upward and onward. They all want promotion, advancement, increases, improvements, upgrades and elevation. That is the way things are in almost every area of human life. You will notice, however, that I said this impulse and desire to move onward and upward applies in “almost” every area of our lives. There is, however, one area of life where the desired direction is actually downward, and smaller, and lesser. In our lives as citizens in a capitalist society the direction is upward, but in our role as disciples of Jesus Christ the direction is actually just the opposite.

Listen to these verses and ask yourself in which direction they seem to be pointing:

“He who would be the greatest among you must be the servant of all” (Mark 9:34). “Whoever exalts himself will be abased or humbled, but whoever abases or humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). That is what Jesus said to the disciples who were already following Him. He went on to tell them, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

It does not take long to discover that achievement and advancement in the kingdom of God moves in a different direction from achievement and advancement in our world. While the world in which we live is always urging us to reach higher and attain greater and greater status for ourselves, the Lord seems to pushing us in a different direction. The Lord is challenging us to embrace the principles of humility over haughtiness, service to others  over personal status, self-denial over self-gratification and personal sacrifice over personal security. These are the directions that Jesus prefers for His disciples.

This is what John the Baptist was saying in both word and deed in the two passages we read today. In the first passage in John 1:29-37, John sees Jesus passing by and he says to his own disciples; “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Follow him.” Later, in John 3:22-30, John uses this memorable phrase that ought to come quickly to the lips of every person who enters into a relationship with Jesus Christ: “I must decrease and he must increase.”