Slavery? There are other forms than that which we fought over in the Civil War. Anytime one person displays dominion over another, that is slavery. Yes, communist countries practice it. But, we should not think we, in America, are free from using our power and position over others.
I speak of some of us, not all of us. Leaders are most susceptible to practicing this form of slavery. They use their position to get their subordinates to do things, to require them to do them in order to remain in good standing with them. Spouses are also guilty of this offense, controlling their partners. We call them control freaks and sometimes suppose it is not such a bad thing. But, being overbearing of another person can cause great damage. When one partner is subjected to doing what the other requires, this becomes a form of slavery.
When a leader manipulates the lives of followers, that, too, is wrong. Sometimes the leader uses his or her position to hold followers down in their positions in life. Sometimes, the leader makes unwarranted accusations against the follower, reducing their esteem among the whole group. There are many ways leaders can practice unrighteous dominion, and they amount to a form of slavery.
A teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that it is the nature and disposition of almost all people, as soon as they get a little authority over others, to begin to exercise dominion over them. That statement suggests almost all leaders have a tendency to do this. We should look at ourselves, then, and see if we are practicing unrighteous dominion -- a manner of slavery -- over those we are charged to care for.
No comments:
Post a Comment