“And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.”–Luke 22:24–26

On the night before the crucifixion, when Jesus was talking to the disciples about how He was looking forward to Heaven and explaining once again His role as the sacrifice for sin, the disciples were arguing over which of them should have the most prominent role in His kingdom. They were filled with pride and came into conflict. The Greek word translated strife indicates not just a conflict, but an eagerness to do battle.

At the root of our strife is the insistence that pride makes on having preeminence and having our own way. “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom” (Proverbs 13:10). It is hard for us to overcome pride because it appeals to us so much. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”

We do not often recognize pride in our own lives, though we easily detect it in others. Rather than humbling ourselves as God commands, we indulge our pride and feel much better about ourselves than we should. This inevitably brings us into conflict with those around us and destroys the unity that should characterize Christians. When our focus is on ourselves rather than on God, we will find it easy to fall into the trap of pride.

“And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me.”–Matthew 14:15–18

So often our focus is on what we do not have rather than what we do have. We make excuses, saying we would serve God if we had more talents or we would give if we had more money. No one God has ever used had the resources needed for the work to which He called them. Instead, those who have been used gave what they had to God and trusted Him to make it enough. Very small things—a shepherd’s staff, a young boy’s sling, a widow’s mite, a handful of meal, and a little boy’s lunch made a huge difference when they were given to God.

We should not expect God to do more for us and increase our resources if we are not using what we already have for His work. Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:10–11).

We do not need great resources when we have a great God. We simply need to trust Him with what He has given to us, and believe that He will work to supply all of our needs. There are no limits to what God can do when we act in faith. If we keep our eyes on Him, we will find the courage to go forward and He will be faithful.