The Upside-Down Kingdom: Living by the Values of Jesus

When I was younger, I remember hearing a story about how hunters used to catch monkeys in parts of Asia and Africa. It’s really kind of simple. They take a hollow gourd, tie it to a tree, and cut a small hole in the side. The hole is just big enough for a monkey’s open hand to fit through. Then they drop a piece of fruit or something shiny inside. The curious monkey reaches in, grabs the treat, and suddenly finds its clenched fist is too big to pull back out. All it would have to do to escape is let go of what it is holding. But it doesn’t. It stubbornly holds on to what it wants, and that keeps it trapped until the hunter arrives.

We can smile at the foolishness of that little monkey—but we shouldn’t laugh too hard. Spiritually speaking, we do the same thing. We hold on to comfort, control, pride, and possessions that keep us from real freedom. Jesus calls us to let go, but that’s easier said than done – especially when what He teaches runs so opposite to what we’ve always been told.

Jesus’ teachings have always been a bit upside down—at least compared to the world’s logic. He didn’t come to reinforce popular thought; He came to replace it. And what He offered was nothing short of a complete reordering of values. Power, status, comfort, and self-preservation were out. Humility, sacrifice, service, and faith were in.

Let’s look at three moments in Jesus’ teaching that show how completely He turned our expectations inside out.

1. The Greatest Is the Servant - Mark 10:42-45

When Jesus’ disciples argued about who among them was the greatest, He didn’t scold or berate them for wanting to be great—He simply redefined what greatness looks like. He said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Then He pointed to Himself:  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

That’s not how greatness works in the world. In business, in politics, or even in our social lives, greatness usually means getting noticed, getting ahead, or getting our way. But Jesus flips that kind of thinking upside down. In His Kingdom, greatness isn’t measured by how many people serve you—it’s measured by how many people you serve.

In short, greatness wears an apron, not a crown.

2. Losing Life to Find It - Luke 9:23-24

Then there’s another paradox of Jesus that sounds backwards to our ears: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it.”

It’s not that Jesus wants us to live recklessly; He’s showing us that the more we try to hold on to control, the more we actually lose the very thing we’re trying to preserve. The monkey in the gourd had a clear goal—keep the prize. But what it held on to became the reason it couldn’t escape.

We often fall into the same trap. We hold on to our plans, our possessions, or our pride, thinking they’ll keep us safe. But in the end—they just keep us stuck. Jesus invites us to release our grip—to trust that real life begins when we let go of the illusion of control and hand our lives over to Him.

It’s a strange kind of math:  subtraction becomes addition, loss becomes gain, and surrender becomes freedom. 

That’s the logic of the Kingdom.

3. Blessed Are the Least - Matthew 5:1–12

And then, just when we think we’ve figured Him out, Jesus steps up on a hillside and says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… blessed are those who mourn… blessed are the meek… blessed are those who are persecuted.”

Now, that’s not how we have used the word “blessed.” The world says, “Blessed are the rich, the confident, the successful, the comfortable.” But Jesus looks at the humble, the grieving, and the overlooked and says, “You’re the ones who are truly blessed, because the Kingdom belongs to you.”

He wasn’t offering a list of religious virtues to add to our list of things to work on; instead, He was painting a picture of a new kind of life—a life rooted not in achievement, but in dependence on God. In reality, the Beatitudes are less about climbing ladders and more about stepping down into the kind of humility that makes room for grace.

So, in Jesus’ world, the least become the most loved, and those who seem to have nothing discover they already have everything.

Turning Life Right Side Up

From beginning to end, Jesus’ Kingdom seems upside down to us—until we realize it’s actually right side up and we’re the ones who have been living upside down all along.

The world tells us to take—Jesus says to give. The world tells us to lead—Jesus says to serve. The world says hold on tight—Jesus says let go. The world says self-preservation—Jesus says self-sacrifice.

And maybe that’s why following Jesus feels hard to us sometimes—it’s not just about changing our behavior, it’s about changing our complete direction. It means loosening our grip on the things that trap us and trusting that God’s way, as backward as it seems at the moment, is the only way that truly leads us forward.

So the next time you feel stuck, like you can’t quite move forward in faith, stop and ask:  “What am I still holding onto?” It might just be your gourd moment—the thing Jesus is waiting for you to let go of so you can finally be free.

After all, the monkey never had to be trapped. He just had to open his hand.