High and Holy King

In writing the song High and Holy King, I was challenged to rethink what it means to be great. I often thought about greatness in a way that seems pretty normal in our culture: that true greatness is just superseding other people and becoming set apart—becoming better than them, accumulating more wealth than them, or becoming great at something specific. 

But when you start to look at Jesus—undoubtedly the greatest human to ever live—he shows us that the path to greatness is not a race to the top, but actually a race to the bottom. Jesus, being the most powerful, submits himself to weakness in meekness in order to serve people. Jesus, being most holy, sees fit to sit at tables and eat dinner with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus, being the Lord of life, gives his life on the cross in order to save us. 

It's an upside-down way of running to the bottom. True greatness looks like godliness; it looks like us becoming more like God. Maybe our true greatness is found in serving other people and lowering ourselves instead of raising up to try to be better than other people. 

That’s really challenged me, and I hope it might challenge you, too, and invite us all to consider what we’re prioritizing and how we think about greatness. Then maybe we could be those who are racing to the bottom instead of the top.