Be the Servant, Not the Master

I must say I feel uneasy writing this letter. I feel that my point of view risks offending many particularly with how I have characterised the issue as a ‘servant versus master’ dichotomy. Rightly, the world has gone to great lengths to rid people of servitude in many forms – Physical slavery, economic coercion, sexual servitude – yet here I am suggesting that we should be the servant and not the master!

So why have I made such an ill-sounding statement?

To be clear, I am not talking of immoral slavery of the kinds listed above. Rather, I am talking about ordinary life where we interact with other people daily, whether it be a customer we’re serving at work, a colleague we’re working on a project with or a dear friend of ours that we find ourselves involved with. In each of these circumstances, I am commanding you to serve. Be of service to others; do not seek to have ‘mastery’ over others.

Being of service does many things for us. It keeps us humble, keeps our egos in check, and reduces the temptation for us to manipulate others for our selfish gain. These are the very temptations faced by the ‘master’. After all, the ‘master’ is the one with concentrated power in their hands – The power to manipulate, the power to lie, the power to alter the ‘truth’. And what did Lord Acton say of power:

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Be the servant that shares their power amongst others. That way, you distribute power and remain a person of integrity.

To this, you might say: ‘But how am I supposed to ‘get ahead’? People with integrity don’t get rewarded; they get screwed over.’ To which my response is this: See the bigger picture. You don’t need to help ‘the world’; you just need to help the person in front of you to make a difference. All these small actions you provide to other people in their service accumulate like compound interest to create something truly great.

In the words of Epictetus:

“No great thing is created suddenly. There must be time. Give your best and always be kind.”

Serve others. Create a shift in consciousness; do not contribute to the ego-infested, cruel world of wannabe-masters that we know today.

BE THE SERVANT, NOT THE MASTER.

***

We have never been so materially prosperous yet spiritually bankrupt. We see this everywhere: Ethnic conflict, egotistical behaviour, the complete abnegation of personal responsibility. It is hardly controversial to say that we have forgotten how to live well.

How can we be good people? How can we live a ‘good life’? What is a good life?

These are the questions I shall be answering in my next five letters 'on life'. This is the fourth of five letters to come on this topic.

Be sure to drop a comment below! I'd love to know what you think... or if my view on things is wrong.