After a crippled beggar stood up and walked following Paul's command (Acts 14:8-9), the people of Lystra thought that Barnabas and Paul must be Greek gods. The priest of the temple of Zeus wanted to sacrifice bulls to them and celebrate their arrival with a pagan festival. The apostles (although Barnabas was not a founding apostle, he was sent out as a missionary [apostolos] with Paul) were horrified. To accept such honour would have invalidated the gospel, denied the Lord Jesus, grieved the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and slandered God the Father (Isaiah 42:8).

They tore their clothes as a sign of deep distress; and then said why they could not accept the crowd's honour. They were no different to the people they were evangelising: the apostles were ordinary human beings. They were not gods, but messengers of the only true God: the Creator and Sustainer who can justify sinners and give eternal life (Acts 13:38-39). Their arrival in the city was not to draw attention to themselves but to Jesus.

The good news is that God does not let human beings drift without direction. He has given the gospel to explain that although He is kind in providing all that the world needs, He commands people to stop worshipping created things and submit themselves to their Creator. The world's system of attributing value to money, possessions and power is flawed. All things come from God: we should praise Him rather than take pride in others or ourselves (1 Chronicles 29:14).

For some Christians, this is a difficult lesson to learn. But the fact is that we are no better than anybody else; our highest calling is to be a servant-messenger even though we are children of the King. If we love to receive praise that belongs to the Lord, we are out of order (Matthew 6:1). If our service for God turns into asserting our own authority over people, we are out of order (3 John 1:9-10). If we let ourselves become bigger than the Lord Jesus, we are out of order (John 3:30). We cannot passively allow the world, or our own sinful natures, make us think we are greater than we are: we must be clear that Jesus is Lord of all and we are as equally in need of His grace as those to whom we minister.