In this week’s parsha Hashem instructs the Kohanim, the priests of the nation saying,

קְדֹשִׁ֤ים יִהְיוּ֙ לֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם וְלֹ֣א יְחַלְּל֔וּ שֵׁ֖ם אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם כִּי֩ אֶת־אִשֵּׁ֨י יְהוָ֜ה לֶ֧חֶם אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֛ם הֵ֥ם מַקְרִיבִ֖ם וְהָ֥יוּ קֹֽדֶשׁ Emor 21:6

They shall be holy to their God… so they must remain holy
This is an interesting way to phrase the sentence. Be holy period. Why are the words ‘to their God’ added?

According to the Netziv, the stipulation ‘to God’ is added to remind the priests that their greatness derives from God and exists in a specific context, and therefore they should not let it make them arrogant (Ha’Emek Davar)  Their greatness is a responsibility, not a privilege. It is a duty that comes with their position and should not cause them to think of themselves as better than the rest of the people, but rather should simply be expressed through their different role.

The Torah speaks to us today as it did thousands of years ago. Many of us hold positions of authority be it at home or school or even volunteering. If we forget about the Source of everything we are, we are at danger of becoming full of ourselves and pushing the people who need us most away. It is so vital to always remember where our gifts and talents come from.

We must use our special roles to serve God and His world.
In the Shema prayer we say ואהבת את ה…ובכל מאדך

We are told to love God with all our מאד technically with all our much-ness. We can understand this as meaning with all your talents and gifts. Do something with all that you have been blessed with to make this world better. As soon as we are. Reminded that it’s TO GOD or FOR GOD then we become people of service.  When you have a mission, the ego has no power over you. You become a pure vessel here to acknowledge what’s unique about you and then to make a difference to others’ lives using what you have.