We are to seek first God's kingdom and justice. We are to be ministers. The kind of downward mobility that Jesus models is far from selfless. In his version of the last supper, John tells us that it is when Jesus knows that he has come from God and is going back to God that he washes the feet of his disciples. Someone said that he had to have all power in order to lay it all down.
Downward mobility requires self-discipline, empathy, charity, and imagination.
Developing these abilities comes from opening our own minds to the mind of Christ. And these abilities feed our souls far more than any expensive homes, exciting vacations, shopping excursions, or comfort food. On the interstate this week a big black van stayed in the right shoulder as all the other cars merged slowly into one lane. The van, because of the driver's sense of self-importance flew up to the front of the line. I wondered why he thought where he was going was more important than where I was going.