Those men do not live long who have become accustomed to say to their subjects in defense of whatever they do, not, "It is my duty," but, "It is my will."
In all walks of life, from places of work to the halls of government, we find people who like to impose themselves. They begin with what they want, with what they think will most gratify them, and then they demand that the rest of us must conform.
Others cease to be ends in themselves, and they are instead reduced to a means for the self, such that daily living itself is twisted into a state of constant struggle and opposition. A harmony of purpose gives way to a clash of egos.
Behind so much of this, I suggest, is not only the mistaken assumption that people must work against one another instead of with one another, but also a confusion about giving and receiving.
We rarely talk about our responsibilities, even as we constantly bicker about our rights. Service falls to being served. Thinking that life is about what happens to us, and not what we do, we measure ourselves by whether the world is conforming to our desires; lost somewhere in the shuffle is the possibility that our desires should minister to the world.
The grasping man, the fellow who insists upon himself, will always be anxious and troubled, since he defines himself by keeping a tenuous hold on his power. What he has can be lost in an instant.
In contrast, I will recognize the righteous man through his serenity, since he defines himself by how he is able to share of himself. What he has can never be taken away from him.
“Now wait, some tyrants, big or small, hold on to their spoils for years and years!”
Fair enough. To be precise, they may survive for a time, but they don’t really live at all, do they? Their souls are already dead, even as their bodies still sit in the corner offices or on the thrones. Their worrisome dependence on externals and violent consumption by conflict make them empty shells.
He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword.
No comments:
Post a Comment