Most of us pray “thy kingdom come” without stopping to ask whether the kingdom we’re actually building day to day is God’s—or our own. That tension sits at the heart of Matthew 6:10, and Daniel 4 shows just how far God will go to get our attention when we forget who’s really in charge.

Sometimes we become so fixed on where we want to go that we cannot see how we are defeating ourselves. Jonah runs in the opposite direction when God sends him to Nineveh, raising questions we often avoid: Do we understand who God is, who we are, and how He sees the people we would rather leave behind?

We want God’s wisdom, yet often what we really want is an advantage—something that makes us look right, strong, and worthy of respect. In James 3:13–17, wisdom from above takes a startlingly different shape: meek conduct, mercy, gentleness, and a willingness to be taught. What does that wisdom ask of us as we wait for Jesus to return?

Rather than seeking to be known as impressive or indispensable, Christians are called to be known as servants of Jesus. Every person is made in the image of God, and the only credential that truly matters on our “resume” before Him is knowing Him.

We’ve always been better at hailing the leader who delivers what we want than trusting the one God has actually sent. Way back in Numbers 12 and 16, even Moses’ own family turns on him for not being the kind of leader they expected. Can we see God’s working any more clearly than they did?

Most of us know what it feels like to pray with one eye on the people around us—wondering whether we sound holy enough, reaching for language we’d never use in ordinary conversation. In Matthew 6, Jesus warns us that prayer aimed at impressing an audience—human or divine—has already received its only reward.

We can do the right thing and still face an uncomfortable question: are we doing it because God called us, or because we want people to notice? In Matthew 6, Jesus assumes his people will give to those in need, then warns that even this good act can become a way of practicing righteousness “to be seen by others.”