How should Christians act in everyday life? This is a question many people carry quietly, especially when our faith begins to intersect with real decisions and real consequences. For many people, following Jesus raises more practical questions than clear answers. 

Am I supposed to be bold here or quiet?

Is success something to pursue or something to restrain? 

Should faith change how I use power, money, or opportunity, or does it simply add meaning to what I was already chasing?

These questions surface because faith is not just something we agree with, iis something we live out. Part of the tension comes from growth. Sometimes we make mistakes simply because we did not know any better, and that is often easy to laugh about in hindsight. What is harder to face is realizing how often we do know better and still struggle to align our lives with what we believe. 

Near the end of Jesus’ life, Luke records a moment that hits this tension. Jesus gathers His disciples for the Passover meal, a sacred reminder of how God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. As they sit at the table, Jesus speaks with unusual weight. He tells them how eager He has been to share this meal with them before His suffering begins. He explains that His body will be broken and His blood poured out on their behalf. And almost immediately after, the disciples begin arguing about who among them is the greatest. It is a crazy disconnect, but also a real one. These guys were not ego maniacs, they were unformed and unaware.

Jesus responds by redefining the entire framework of greatness. He tells them that in the world, power is used to elevate ourselves and secure status, but among His followers it will be different. Greatness would not be measured by proximity to power, public recognition, or personal gain. It would be measured by service. Then He anchors the teaching in His own example. “I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27).

Jesus is not dismissing success, ability, or influence. For us, He is intensifying their meaning. The more influence we have, the greater our responsibility becomes. In His kingdom, success does not excuse service, it requires it. And in that, our power does not disappear, it gets redirected.

Our words, choices, and posture carry Jesus’ name further than we realize. There is no neutral ground. When service is absent, something else always fills the space. Influence will represent a kingdom, whether intentionally or accidentally.

So how should Christians act?

Greatness looks like serving, and power looks like sacrifice.