Matthew 20:20 - 28

So yesterday I eavesdropped on a conversation by some North Americans who couldn't stop talking about money and how much of it they had. It was something that annoyed me and I realized it was something I needed to prepare myself for in my transition back to Canada in a couple of weeks. And I was praying about how I could do that. Then this morning I opened up my Forward Day by Day devotional and this was the appointed reading and reflection for the day:

"Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, "What do you want?? She said to him, "Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for thsoe for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
Matthew 20:20 - 28

In our culture, your worth is measured by what you can buy. We're encouraged to buy...and to buy and to buy! The culture says we are consumers, valued for what we own. The one who owns the most has the most prestige and the most power. Donald Trump is famous, but do we know the name of the homeless person sleeping beneath the bridge?
Jesus turns the world on its ear. He tells the name of Lazarus, the poor man who lies at the gate of the rich man (Luke 16:20ff), but doesn not name the rich man.
Money and power are things that our society teaches us matter. But to experience the kingdom of Jesus reveals, seek not money and power to serve. For in serving we come to know our Lord, we come to know our brothers and sisters and we're assured our name matters.
Forward Day by Day Reflection

I think this is a passage and a reflection that I'm going to use in the next few months during my transition back into N. American culture. Pretty decent answer to prayer if I do say so myself :)