Kuolachalie Seyie
The Greek word ‘doulos’ is a slave and ‘kurios’ denotes ‘absolute ownership’. We get the meaning far better if we translate it with the original words in this way : No man can be slave to two Owners; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other. You cannot be a slave to God and to material things (Mat. 6:24).
To understand all that this means and implies, we must remember two things about the ‘slave’ in ancient world. Firstly, the ‘slave’ in the eyes of law was not a person but a thing. ‘Slaves’ had absolutely no right of their own; their master could do with them absolutely as he liked. ‘Slaves’ were living tools. Their master could sell them, beat them, throw them out and even kill them. Their master possessed them completely as he possessed any of his material possessions. Secondly, in the ancient world, ‘slaves’ had literally no time which was their own. Every moment of their lives belonged to their master.
Here, then, what I understand of this Bible verse is our committed and honest relationship to God. In regard to God, we have no rights of our own; God must be the absolute undisputed master of our lives. Every moment of our lives belong to Him. Being a Christian is a full-time job, in all the areas of our lives, be it in politics, economics, social life, or of any profession and vocation. No Christian is a Babylonian or vice versa. The membership of a Church can never be compared with that of a Club or an Association and there can be no part-time Christianity. Let’s look at what Jesus said in Mat. 16:25: “but whosoever loses his life for me will find it.” The founder of Lakewood Church, the largest church in the US, Pastor John Osteen said “If there was anything the Lord revealed to him that he was not willing to do so, correct or rectify, then Jesus was not his Lord.” We cannot sometime say, “I will do what God wishes me to do” and at other times, outside of the church say “I will do what I like”.
If possessions have to be acquired, or money has to be amassed and wealth has to be accumulated at the expense of treating people as things or at the cost of services of common good, such as health, education, water supply, electricity, road construction, irrigation, environment, sanitation and other public amenities, then all such riches are terribly wrong. Today we may not exactly practise what Britain did in 1833, where there were 84,000 children under 14 years of age in the mining factories, doing all hazardous work for 12 hours a day, thereby exploiting even their own children, out of their lust for money, but our present practice of only paper transparency and backdoor manipulations from the top down to the Village Development Boards (VDB) where there is money, is equally wrong.
A few years ago, a top politician told us in a meeting that all Nagas go to church but they actually worship money. Sad but true for many of us. We can enrich our bank accounts at the expense of impoverishing our souls which is dangerous for self, family and society. Broad is the road that leads to destruction (Mt. 7:13). The question is do we gain our possessions in a way that we would be glad that Jesus Christ should see it? It seems to be common in our today’s world that possessions are gained by the deliberate smashing of some weaker rivals without conscience or at the expense of honesty and honor. This may delight the owners of such possession for a short while but it kills our physical and spiritual well being, dignity, honor, future and society. We only deceive ourselves and become cheap community without principles and values.
Again some possessions are acquired at too great a cost and such possession owners then claim that their possessions are meant for the happiness of common people. But it does not need great corrupt wealth to do that, for it is equally possible to be just as generous with one thousand rupees as with one lakh rupees. We will not go far wrong, if we use our humble possessions to see how much happiness we can bring to others. Paul remembered a saying of Jesus which everyone else had forgotten: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
It is characteristic of God to give and heal and if in our lives today, giving and healing others always ranks above receiving, we will use aright what we possess, however much or however little it may be. And we will receive the promise of the Bible such as “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will come to you in addition” (Mat. 6:33). His kingdom and His will as we all cherish and is our daily prayers may be done on earth as it is in heaven, provided that we strictly obey the everest teaching of Christ: “in everything do to others what you would have them do to you” (Mat. 7:12).
