“A servant is not greater than his master.”
-Jesus
Which is to say, “You should expect people to treat you like they treated me.” Like Jesus, like disciple. As he goes on to explain, this can go one of two ways.
First, others may treat you poorly. They may persecute you, dismiss you, ignore you, cause trouble for you, or—as some of his disciples later found out the hard way—they may even kill you. We would do well to be aware of any inclination within ourselves to think that we are above suffering and looking like losers. Much of church leadership training, books, events, etc. tends to smack of an inevitable winner mentality? If God is for us, who can be against us, right? Wrong. There are likely to be many against you. So don’t be surprised or overly concerned.
Like Jesus, like disciple. Don’t take it personally. It has more to do with him than with you.
Second, Jesus points out that others may actually listen to you. They may really take your teaching to heart, read your books, sing your songs, follow your example. They may even end up giving your ministry money, which will pay your bills, feed your kids, and help you prepare for retirement. If you get this positive kind of response, according to Jesus it’s an indication that they already obey his teaching, that they have already come to know God through him. Sometimes our success has very little to do with us, and everything to do with the Father. So don’t be overly excited when you appear to be successful.
Like Jesus, like disciple. Don’t take the credit. It has more to do with him than with you.
