Pecking orders are a part of life. Ranking systems can clarify our roles. The problem with pecking orders isn’t the order. The problem is with the pecking!
A friend who grew up on a farm told me he saw their chickens attacking a sick newborn. His mother explained, “That’s what chickens do. When one is really sick, the rest peck it to death.” Such a barnyard mentality may fly on the farm, but not in God’s kingdom. In Matthew 23:6 (NIV) Jesus is critical of the Pharisees who “love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues.” Through this passage Jesus blasts the top birds of the church, those who spread their plumes of robes and titles and choice seats. Jesus won’t stand for it. Jesus has no room for pecking orders in his kingdom.
