From Me First to Us First

Sep 28, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Disciples' Invisible Glasses

The disciples had just been given power and authority by Jesus. They had seen Him work miracles. Yet when a desperate father begged them to free his son from a demon, they failed. They possessed the right tools but could not use them. Their automatic, internal response was not yet aligned with Jesus's mission.

Their failure revealed a gap between having authority and living under Jesus's authority. The disciples had the power to cast out demons, but something in their inner life prevented its effective use. Jesus rebuked the unbelieving generation, highlighting that the problem was deeper than a lack of skill. It was a matter of the heart.

You have been given God's Spirit and His word. Yet you might find yourself failing in the same areas repeatedly. A harsh word flies out. A judgmental thought takes root. These are your invisible glasses, the unconscious habits that undermine your relationships. What is one automatic reaction you have in conflict that you know doesn't reflect Jesus?

A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
(Luke 9:38–40, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one relationship habit you practice without thinking.

Challenge: Identify one recent conflict and write down the first thing you felt compelled to do or say.

Day 2: Arguing on the Road to the Cross

Jesus was walking toward His death. He told His disciples He would be betrayed and killed. While everyone was marveling at His power, Jesus shared His coming suffering. But the disciples did not understand this statement. It was hidden from them. They were afraid to ask Him about it.

Instead of seeking clarity, they immediately fell into an argument. They debated which one of them was the greatest. In the shadow of the cross, they were jockeying for position. Their focus was on personal status, not on their Lord's anguish or their shared calling. Their unconscious values were on full display.

Many of us avoid hard truths. We change the subject when a conversation gets uncomfortable. We default to talking about ourselves rather than sitting with someone in their pain. We prioritize our position over our connection. When a difficult topic arises, do you lean in with questions or change the subject to something safer?

An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.
(Luke 9:46–47, NIV)

Prayer: Confess to God your tendency to prioritize your comfort over another’s need.

Challenge: Set aside ten minutes today to ask a family member one thoughtful question about their well-being.

Day 3: The Child Who Redefined Greatness

Jesus saw the disciples arguing. He did not give a lecture. He brought a child and had the child stand beside Him. In that culture, children had no status or power. They were the least. Jesus used this child as a living illustration. He said whoever welcomes such a child welcomes Him, and whoever welcomes Him welcomes God.

Jesus redefined greatness as welcoming the least. He turned the world’s value system upside down. Greatness in God’s kingdom is not about being first. It is about seeing value in those the world overlooks. It is about building up the community, not elevating the self.

You are part of a community. Your call is to welcome others, not to win against them. This happens when you listen to the quietest person in the room. It happens when you serve without needing credit. It means valuing the health of the ‘us’ over the advancement of ‘me’. Who is one person in your life you have overlooked because they seem unimportant?

Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”
(Luke 9:48, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for someone you are tempted to see as insignificant.

Challenge: Intentionally greet and learn the name of one person you usually walk past.

Day 4: The Exclusivity of "Us Versus Them"

John saw a man driving out demons in Jesus’s name. This man was not part of their group. John and the others tried to stop him. They saw him as a threat to their exclusive mission. They reported this to Jesus, expecting His approval. Instead, Jesus corrected them. He said, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

The disciples defaulted to a mindset of competition. They believed ministry was a zero-sum game. If someone else succeeded, it meant they were losing. Jesus rejected this entirely. He expanded their view of God’s work. He called them to see allies, not rivals.

This same scarcity mindset damages your relationships. You withhold encouragement from a coworker because their success might overshadow yours. You feel threatened when a friend spends time with someone else. You see other people as competition for love and recognition. Where do you feel most competitive, and how does that hurt your connections?

“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
(Luke 9:49–50, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to help you see a specific rival as a fellow worker.

Challenge: Send a text to someone you feel competitive with and offer a genuine word of encouragement.

Day 5: Forgiving the Tax Collector

Peter the fisherman and Levi the tax collector should have been enemies. Peter likely hated men like Levi who betrayed their people for money. Jesus called them both to be disciples. They had to learn to live together. They had to choose the ‘us’ of their shared mission over the ‘me’ of their personal histories and grievances.

Their unity was a powerful testimony. It proved God’s grace was stronger than human division. It showed that Jesus’s teachings could transform even the most hardened prejudices. Their forgiveness was not a feeling. It was a choice to prioritize their new identity in Christ above their old animosities.

You have your own Levi. Someone has wronged you, and everything in you wants to hold a grudge. Jesus calls you to forgive. This is a conscious decision to nurture the ‘us’ of God’s family instead of letting the relationship die. It is choosing connection over being right. Who is one person God is asking you to welcome back into community?

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
(Ephesians 4:32, NIV)

Prayer: Pray for the strength to forgive one person who has hurt you.

Challenge: Write a letter of forgiveness to someone. You do not have to send it.

Sermon Summary

Human beings often carry unconscious habits into their relationships. Some habits are harmless, but others damage the people who matter most, especially when stress or conflict causes automatic reactions. Luke 9 reveals that Jesus’ disciples also acted from deeply rooted patterns they did not fully recognize. Although Jesus had given them power and authority to heal and drive out demons, they failed to help a suffering boy. Their failure exposed their continued need for faith, prayer, and dependence on Jesus.

The disciples also struggled to understand Jesus’ prediction that he would be rejected, killed, and raised to life. They did not grasp the kingdom-shaped meaning of his suffering, and they were afraid to ask questions. Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice himself for others stood against their assumptions about power, success, and importance. They still viewed relationships through the values of the world rather than through the grace they had received from God.

Their confusion became clear when they argued about which disciple was greatest. Jesus placed a child among them, using someone with very little social status to redefine greatness. In God’s kingdom, greatness does not come from rank, influence, or getting ahead. It comes through welcoming the overlooked and seeking the flourishing of the community. When the disciples tried to stop someone outside their group from doing God’s work, Jesus corrected their “us versus them” thinking and identified that person as a fellow worker rather than a rival.

These failures reveal a movement from a “me first” mindset to an “us first” way of life. In relationships, people often turn disagreements into contests where someone must win and someone must lose. Beneath manipulation, withdrawal, anger, or the demand to get one’s way may lie the fear that losing means becoming less valuable or important. Jesus calls his followers to let grace expose these hidden patterns and allow the Holy Spirit to form new responses.

God gathers very different people into one kingdom community and teaches them to protect the health of their shared life. The many New Testament commands to love, serve, forgive, encourage, bear burdens, and build one another up all preserve this connection. Peter and Levi illustrate how shared grace and mission can overcome prejudice, resentment, and painful history. As individuals seek one another’s good, a healthy “us” is formed, strengthened, and made visible as evidence of God’s work.

Key Takeaways

1. Grace transforms unconscious relationship patterns
Stress often reveals habits that remain hidden during peaceful moments. God’s grace does not merely forgive harmful reactions; it brings them into the light so they can be changed. Awareness becomes spiritually meaningful when it leads to dependence on the Holy Spirit and a new way of responding.
2. Kingdom greatness welcomes the overlooked
Jesus overturns status-driven ideas of importance by placing a child at the center. Greatness is measured by the willingness to receive those who offer little social advantage or recognition. A community shaped by Jesus seeks the flourishing of its most vulnerable members rather than rewarding those who rise above others.
3. Relationships are not contests to win
Conflict becomes destructive when another person’s gain feels like personal loss. Jesus exposes the fear beneath rivalry and calls people to pursue the good of the relationship instead of securing victory. The goal is not surrendering truth or wisdom, but replacing power struggles with mutual care and shared responsibility.
4. Shared grace creates a new community
Jesus brings together people whose histories and loyalties might naturally divide them. Their common experience of mercy gives them a deeper identity than their differences, grievances, or social positions. Forgiveness, service, encouragement, and patient endurance become concrete ways of protecting the “us” that grace has created.

Bible Study Guide

**Bible reading**
*Luke 9:37-50*

**Observation questions**

What specific failures did the disciples experience in this passage, and what was Jesus' response to each?
How did Jesus redefine the concept of "greatness" using the child as an example?
What reason did John give for trying to stop someone from driving out demons in Jesus' name, and how did Jesus correct him?

**Interpretation questions**

Why do you think the disciples struggled so much to understand Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death, even though he had given them power and authority earlier?
What does the disciples' argument about who was greatest reveal about their underlying assumptions regarding power and status?
How might the "us versus them" mentality that John displayed actually work against the values of God's kingdom?

**Application questions**

When stress or conflict arises in your closest relationships, what specific "automatic reactions" tend to surface that might damage connection?
Think of a relationship where you sometimes view interactions as a competition to "win." What would it look like this week to prioritize the health of the "us" instead of your individual desires?
Is there someone in your life you've unconsciously overlooked or marginalized because they offer little social advantage? What practical step could you take to welcome them as Jesus would?
The sermon mentioned that fear often drives our need to be right or come out on top. What specific fear might be beneath your own reluctance to yield in relationships?
Which of the "one another" commands from Scripture (like serving, forgiving, or encouraging) feels most challenging to practice with certain people in your life?
The disciples' shared mission helped them overcome their differences. What shared purpose or common grace could help strengthen a strained relationship you're in?

Sermon Quotes

“Sometimes we unconsciously do things that damage and undermine the relationships that mean the most to us.”

“For Jesus, the love and grace that we receive from God should transform the way that we love and relate to other people.”

“The teachings and insights of Jesus give us a way to look beneath the surface and expose the habits and unconscious beliefs that end up hurting the people in our lives.”

“When stress or conflict enters the picture, our thinking brain shuts down and we just respond with the habits we know—even if they aren’t helpful.”

“Jesus calls us to move away from a ‘me first’ competition-focused mindset to an ‘us first’ cooperation-focused mindset.”

“The goal is to let God’s Spirit transform us so that we seek the good of ‘us’ instead of the good of ‘me.’”

“When I lay aside my need to win and be first and commit to seeking your good, something incredible happens.”

“That common mission, that common grace that they had experienced, was enough to help them work through the prejudices, differences, and conflict that divided them.”

“Because we are followers of Jesus, we need to find ways to allow His grace to transform all of our relationships as well.”

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