Rev Phil Zamagias, Christ Church Anglican.
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Contributed
Over the past decade or so, I have become amused, but also concerned, at the number of ways our egalitarian society has developed to stratify society.
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We may think we are a classless society because we don’t have a caste system and yet we have developed a hierarchy based on economic status.
I started my working life in the aviation industry. When you travelled by plane, ticketing was much like travelling by train.
You could buy an economy ticket or a first-class ticket. Then came business class that bridged the gap for many who travelled in the course of their employment.
Things have changed a lot since then. I recently made a booking for a domestic flight and discovered that the economy cabin is now divided into five categories!
There is a ‘normal’ seat, a ‘forward’ seat, a better ‘forward’ seat, a ‘plus’ seat and a better ’plus’ seat. Not to mention business class and first class.
Each category had an associated upgrade cost. On another airline, I couldn't even choose my seat without paying extra.
Worse still, look at all the so-called loyalty programmes that just about every large retail establishment or club offers.
Even my favourite football club offers grades of membership at ever-increasing prices!
All of these marketing ploys seek to relieve us of our hard-earned cash by dangling shiny things before us in the guise of ‘status’.
I am confused now about which is better, gold, diamond or platinum?
Why do we need to be recognised as being of a higher level than others? Does it stem from a basic form of insecurity? How do we determine or assess our worth anyway?
I think the example of Jesus may give us a clue. When Jesus walked the earth, one of the things that the Apostle Mark wrote in his gospel, chapter 10:45, was that Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”.
The world’s rulers increasingly demand unquestioning fealty.
They surround themselves with servants who attend to their every need and provide them with protection from physical harm.
The people around them serve them and elevate them above ‘ordinary’ people.
Contrast that with Jesus, who didn’t have a palace in which to reside nor an army to protect Him.
Instead, He was seen circulating among the people, the ordinary people, the poor, the sick and the outcasts.
Jesus healed them, He fed them, and He restored them to wholeness in mind, body and spirit.
Through faith in Jesus, we too can be restored to our rightful place as heirs of God’s Kingdom.
Regardless of what is in our past, forgiveness is available to all who call upon the name of Jesus. Those who trust in Jesus receive the benefits of being heirs of God’s Kingdom.
This is an inheritance that lasts for ever and is far more valuable than having a loyalty card in your wallet or purse that says you have attained the next level of status with a company based on how much of your money you spend with them.
Those who trust in Jesus receive the benefits of being heirs of God’s Kingdom. Something more than the loyalty cards you have in your wallet.
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benedek
Knowing we are equally valued by God, whether we are rich or poor, famous or relatively unknown, we are confident to serve others selflessly, not for personal praise and recognition but for the benefit of humanity.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, chapter 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
What will that look like in Echuca as winter sets in and we see people in the street who have little hope?
14°C