Paradoxes in Christianity Part one
June 6, 2024
The Paradoxical Enslavement of Sin Masquerading as Freedom part four
June 18, 2024

Paradoxes in Christianity

Part 2

The paradox: “Who wants to be the first, and be the slave of all”!

Who doesn’t want to be “number one”?

Who doesn’t want to shine through what they are, have, or do?

We are very familiar with the words leader, chief, and boss. It piques interest.

In this sense, unsuspected human, financial, time, and training resources are consumed. Sometimes, many years pass, youth passes, and even life passes to achieve some ideals that would ensure us a social status, an exceptional professional position, etc. All this with the thought of a happy future, full of riches, fame, recognition of professional, financial, and material training, etc. Not infrequently we do this having in our mind the desire to be in a position of authority. Because, isn’t that so, the boss’s word is law! People obey you, they must listen to you.

It can be seen that such thoughts, of attitudes crop up in our minds, welling up from the depths of our being.

We find this preoccupation even among Christ’s apostles, who wanted a subordinate, highly privileged position over others. Some openly expressed their desire to have the honour of sitting at the right and left of Christ, the Son of God, that is, to sit on thrones of glory in the heavenly Kingdom.

Mark 10:35-37,41

”And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.”

The episode described in Mark chapter 10 is a reference to human nature, especially since this dialogue between Christ and the sons of Zebedee comes after a moment of maximum tension in which Christ had just told the disciples that he would be given into the hands of the Gentiles, who would mock him, knock, crucify. And the apostles didn’t even hear Him. They were moved by nothing in their hearts by the announcement of Christ’s suffering and death. It was more important for them the places of honour that they would be able to occupy, since He will ascend to the Father, in heaven!
A strange attitude, we would say!
But let’s not rush to judge them. We would sooner find ourselves in the thoughts of the disciples, thinking of what would we gain from the fact that Christ was going to resume his position of glory in heaven, and we were his close ones here on earth.

But, let’s remember what answer Christ gave to the disciples to their wish expressed at an inappropriate moment:

Mark 10:42-44

”But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

The Bible does not tell us what the disciples’ reaction was to this discouraging answer. But I don’t think we would be far from the truth if we imagined their surprise. Of course, they did not expect this answer, quite apart from their way of thinking, and outside their principles of life. Well, they might have been a bit disappointed, considering that being a servant is not a very good idea, something that many of them would not want. But, even among us today, I don’t think that many of us want to be the servants of others.

And yet, where and why is this idea?
What do you mean?! When you’re the boss, can you also be the servant?
Either you’re a boss or you’re a servant!

The first big thing that needs to be stated from the start is the fact that there are radical, fundamental differences between the principles of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this world. While in our world things centre on man, according to the principle of “me, for me, about me” firstly, even secondly, and, thirdly. In God’s world, the principle and fundamental law is ” for the other, about for the other”. That is, serving out of holy love, not out of obligation, like a slave!

From this perspective, the logical question can be raised:
Who can serve better?
Can the weak better assist the strong, or can the poor better serve the rich, and can the sick better attend the healthy?

Or, wouldn’t it be more logical for the strong to help the weak? Can the rich support the poor?

To our ears, these questions can bring a smile to the corner of our mouths.

Reality proves that there is a close connection between having and being, between man’s potential and his ascension. If we bring up Maslow’s Pyramid, we can recall that at the top of human needs, of desires social recognition, self-realization, and personal development are at the summit.

The axis of man’s becoming is his interests, his desires, and his dreams. I mean, his own ego. The main coordinate of the realization of this ego is the accumulation of the self. The ultimate major effects of this accumulation are most of the time, pride, praise, mockery, malice, inferiority, and last but not least, exploitation of the other, hatred, etc.

Pride corrupts thinking, character, life, and relationships. It is the colour of money and vainglory. Into the equation of life comes greed and the desire for riches, which become traps, more often than not, bringing ruin and destruction. Greed refuses to be satisfied. More often than not, the more we get, the more we want. It can consist of the (often ostentatious) display of superiority, be it physical or moral qualities, wealth, material or financial situation, education, origin, nationality, ethnicity, race, etc.
About it, the Bible tells us that:

Proverbs 16:18 ”Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Luke 18:14 ” For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

About it, the Bible tells us that:

1 Timothy 6:10 ”For the love of money is the root of all evil.” Or, in popular terms: “Money is the devil’s eye”.

And the vain glory of this world is seen as a “chasing after the wind.” It is found in the renunciation of simplicity, in the search for honour and praise from others, and in the praise of the agony-made villas, luxurious cars, expensive brand clothes, objects of big commercial value, etc.

But, what does the Word of God say about what is at the basis of these things, about what made it possible to reach the intellectual, financial, and material dream levels?

It reminds us that our intellectual endowment, every endowment, our capacities, and the talents that propel us to higher positions are given to us by someone else. We did not give them to ourselves, or acquire them by our own will. From birth, we have in our DNA all the information and all the databases necessary for our human profile. And this information will define almost our whole life, we did not put it in ourselves during the intrauterine period, not even our parents could do it on purpose.

The One who defines our existence is far beyond our limited possibilities to understand, He is God – our Creator. This should make us more humble.

According to the Word of God, we understand that this native dowry, this genetic heritage, although it does not have the last word, nevertheless has a decisive role in everything we are and can do.
He tells us through the apostle Paul, the apostle of Christ:

1 Corinthians 4: 6-7
”…that no one of you is puffed up for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”
Matthew 25:14-15

More: ”For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several abilities.”

But what is the connection between being “number one” in material, financial accumulation, in social recognition, and service?

A rich man will always want to be served. He wants to have subjects and listeners. He wants to set the tone, to command, to make the law. This is very much like things that do not seem normal either way and abnormal otherwise.

But Christ overturns this way of thinking and that it is a mentality specific to the nature of fallen man, specific to our fallen world. From this perspective, one can understand even better the statement of Christ Jesus who brings into discussion another paradox, that” of being born again”, which He has in knowledge to regenerate from the foundations of this fallen human nature from the original plan of the Creator the man.

That is why He makes that earth-shaking statement: “Whosoever will be first among you, let him be the servant of all.” In other words, the big, strong, strong should serve the weak, small, and powerless. Those with ten talents, with five, or even with one talent, should serve the weaker and more needy like themselves.

Here we can emphasize the idea that God is sovereign to make “vessels” of honour, vessels with more talents, and “vessels” with more talents, but also the idea of man’s free will: “whosoever wills…” The word should be emphasized as “whosoever will” (“let him be the first among you, let him be the slave of all.”)

Why this way of thinking of Christ Jesus?

First of all, this is the reality, the practice in the Kingdom of God, and the Christian, a candidate for this Kingdom, learns to adapt from here on earth to the new conditions that await him and where he will use his talents for eternity, the talents that he received and that define him from here on earth. The entire potential received as a native dowry is not primarily for personal use, but, above all, for the benefit of others. The best image of this statement is the image of the body functioning through the mediation of each organ for the benefit of the other organ and all for the benefit of the whole organism. Each organ differs in importance, complexity, role, function, and place. That is, there are differences in endowment with “talents”. Paraphrasing the Bible verse, we could extend the explanation to the living organism. One organ was given “one talent, another five, another ten”, but everyone works with the endowment they have for the benefit of the other organ, and other organs.

1 Corinthians 12:22-26
”Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”

The Church itself, as the body of Christ, is or should be, organized according to this principle. The management personnel are seen both as servants of God and as servants of the simple Christian, who is helped to walk the path of faith, to complete his pilgrimage and journey on this earth there in the Kingdom of God, for which he has been preparing since for now.

The statements in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12 are very clear, and verse 27 is very suggestive:
1 Corinthians 12:27
”Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.”

If the pride of being and having and the desire to rule is the basis of the human ego, then humility, obedience, and service are the dominant characteristics of the new man in the “image and likeness” of Christ.

It must also be said that anyone who wants to be the first must first of all purify himself.
2 Timothy 2:20-21
”But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and the earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man, therefore, purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

In Deuteronomy, chapter 28 we find it written even more clearly:
Deuteronomy 28:13-15
”And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:”

So, when we talk about being “number one” there is an “IF”. If you are submissive and obedient to God you will keep your place and capitalize on the potential for the benefit of the other with priority.

Why submissive and obedient?

Because then His Holy Spirit will be able to make the change you need so that you can be in His image and likeness. Then you will be able to help the weak with empathy, you will be able to help them with love and wisdom, you will not look down on them with arrogance, and you will not disrespect them or exploit them.

You will not forget that serving God is an honour, that it is not a thing to grab and it is not for everyone. There is a price, that of loving obedience. A service out of love, out of gratitude, because you know what God brought you out of and what He has prepared for you when you get home.

Is it a little thing that Christ, the Son of God, should come to earth to serve man? He said it himself:
Mark 10:45
”For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Or, little thing is His counsel of His second to come:
Luke 12:36-37
And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve them.”

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