5 - It shall not be so among you

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

In the founding relationship between God and humanity (actually with all creation), God served humanity and humanity served God. It was a power relationship based not on individual goals or transactions to achieve those, instead the relationship was the actual goal. Despite the actual practical power differential between God and humanity, this was not a transactional relationship. There was no end goal outside of the relationship.

God relates to humanity in a subject to subject manner. God wants us to do this as well. While real discrepancies between the actual actual power possessed by individuals will always exist, here no one is trying to leverage their power. Other people are not tools to be used, they are not means to an end. The subject to object relationship always revolves around power and the leverage of power that can be used. However in a subject to subject relationship, power is essentially ignored.

Power relationships aligned with the gospels essentially ignore the power relationship between the individuals involved. Going a step further, these power relationships ignore self interest. Subject A acts in subject B’s interest, even if it conflicts with their own interest, and Subject B acts in Subject A’s interest likewise. This is the pre-fall state, God acting in the interest of creation, and Adam and Eve acting in God’s interest.

True power aligned with the gospels ironically has nothing to do with power. It actively removes power from all relationships, to the point where one’s own interests are not an objective. I look after another’s interests as they look after mine. It is intentionality directed from self towards the other. It is an imitation of God.

As daunting as this may seem, Christ not only directly addresses this throughout the gospels, but he prefaces his ministry with a short guide on the proper use of power.