It seems everywhere, people are generally obsessed with desire to obtain independence. However, as long as one lives in this life, it is impossible to be independent. Many people assume that there is independence in wealth and financial security. But the phenomenon of death reveals that there is fallacy in assuming security in worldly possessions.
This world is characterized in two forces that control human behaviour. Righteousness, as sponsored by God on one hand. And Evil—sponsored by Satan on the other. In other words, everyone who lives in this world is either sponsored by God, or sponsored by Satan.
It is impossible to live in between—assuming that one can therefore be independent. The only problem is that humanity cannot imagine the mechanisms of the stated two forces. If Jesus was not independent in this world, why are His followers obsessed in desire to be independent?
When Jesus walked on this planet, He always insisted that He could not do anything without His Father’s authority. In other words, everything that Jesus committed Himself to do, was sponsored by His Father. Jesus was not independent. When stating: “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6) Jesus sought to project what ought to be the behaviour of humanity.
The murderers of Jesus assumed that their behaviour was sponsored by God. But, alas…..those people were unknowingly sponsored by Satan. Nevertheless, it is true that independence is the only reality that brings self-worth and dignity. Most Zimbabweans would attest to the fact that the so-called independence, actually, brought myriad challenges which the nation currently swims under.
It cannot be disputed that all human beings originated from God, and therefore, God is their Father. Ideally, every human being ought to be sponsored by God, from whose origin humanity emerged. Satan only takes advantage of those assuming there being fantasy in independence. All manner of world challenges can be traced to the degree of Satan’s manipulation—resulting from assumption of being independent.
Most people find joy in Satan’s world, similarly to how others experience joy in God. The only difference is that the joy under Satan produces all negative effects as known today. The reason why Satan draws more souls to himself, is that Satan dangles the so-called independence nomenclature as bait.
The story of Adam and Eve can effectively be used to illustrate this reality. That couple sought independence from God, who freely offered it to them, albeit, with negative consequences. At the expense of His death on the cross, Jesus came to reveal the only way to freedom from fallacious independence.
The only reason what is said here cannot be marketable, is suspension of comfort that independence is assumed to bring. Pride makes it difficult to leave one’s own ways to follow a different principle. The idea of losing self-worth and dignity, is assumed as degrading—-which certainly, may as well be.
A human being was created in God’s image. Being human implies that one ought not to be manipulated by any other force, except God. However, the independence bait offered by Satan, ensures incarceration into sinful slavery. This is why Jesus came to free humanity from slavery (Luke 4:18).
Those who killed Jesus assumed that there was independence in slavery. But nothing projects more confusion than that. In a state of confusion, the person runs into the lake of fire, when assuming to run towards independence. Comical, as this may sound, it projects the reality of what grips humanity.
Here comes the magnanimous question: In 1980, were Zimbabweans taken out of independence into slavery, or vice versa? What prevails, glaringly points to the fact that Zimbabweans may be yet to experience independence. They were not free under Smith, just as they are not free under ZANU PF.
The question of which slavery was better than the other, can be academically debated. But that debate produces no winner on either side. What remains fundamentally true is that one is as free as identifying with God in whose image one was created. Nothing else is true, under the sun.
Some people are identified as heroes, having achieved whatever would be adjudged as admirable by others. However, true heroism seeks to provide knowledge—so that many people may discover reality in that the term independence implies identifying with God.
When following Jesus’ example, people become free indeed—taking orders, only from their Father in Heaven. This is as opposed to taking orders from any other source. The oneness of humanity is found in the oneness of God.
Like sheep gone astray—humanity desire to belong somewhere. This is why others take pride in being white or black—or belonging to a race considered fairer. Such considerations invoke unnecessary racial prejudices—which, unfortunately, have no bearing on a person whose true identity is God.
Further down the line—in search for cause of such stupidity are misunderstood words. This is a result of desire to embrace the so-called independence nomenclature. It takes a person who is not proud, to desire to clear misunderstood words.
Only the proud people consider it humiliating to change from current status—even without basis of remaining in that fallacy. A proud person can certainly never accept being corrected. He considers him/herself to be right, even though being totally wrong. As far as that person is concerned, that is exactly what dignity is all about.
Convincing a proud person out of wrongness may be as difficult as asking another person to adopt what is foreign to his/her perceptions. If not careful, one can be killed for such an attempt. It then becomes a cliché that “you dare not tell a proud person that he/she is wrong, lest you lose your life.”
However, failure to expose the wrongness of one’s friends can be equally fallacious—precariously on one holding such truth. Knowledge bestows responsibility on the person holding such truthful data. This could be one of the reasons why Jesus said: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39) (ESV).
Under the sun, nothing appears as difficult as convincing other people of their wrongness. Everyone wants to maintain their independence, even if that independence produces contra-survival realities. This is what spells the tragedy of the human race since the time of Adam.
What easily causes offence to humanity is pride. The person projecting truth might be adjudged as inferior to the one desiring to maintain his/her pride. This can be astounding—if not disgusting to the person holding the truth—when desiring to free his/her friends from such captivity.
Right across the world, all problems emanate from inability to accept truth, as long as not coming from acceptable quarters. Those holding truth, therefore, seek to keep such truths to themselves, rather than being exposed to victimisation. Unfortunately, this is what endorses both characters—the informed and the misinformed—to be terribly in danger?
A person can be assumed right when being wrong, and assumed wrong when being right. This datum may be as true as having been what caused Jesus’ murder on the cross. As long as wearing the physical nature, a person is not independent. The physical nature seeks to project the fact that escaping from pain brings independence, when the opposite is true.
Seeking own independence may therefore be as catastrophic as committing suicide. But seeking understanding of one’s own purpose in life is what points towards true independence. That purpose is a conduct that enhances good life on other people, rather than good life on self. This portrays forfeiting the comfort derived from independence nomenclature.
Whichever way considered, one is subjected to slavery, as long as wearing a physical body. One is bonded in slavery, when committed to salvaging other fellow human beings from sinful slavery. But one remains in sinful slavery, when systematically desiring to attain independence and good comfort.
This is what is characterised in the man called Jesus—committing Himself to die for the sins of humanity. What spells the attainment of true independence is observed in that the same man called Jesus died for the sins of humanity. This is why Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).
Unfortunately, the false gospel advances prosperity and good living as being what Jesus came for. But truth is in that Jesus came to reveal the only way that brings total freedom. Such freedom requires subjecting oneself to serving other people—more than consideration of one’s own welfare.
While realistically projecting that in this world no-one can be independent, there is way towards true independence. The way towards such independence requires subjection to slavery—when saving fellow humanity from sinfulness.
Serving other people is, therefore, senior and more purposeful to every other human behaviour. All this reveals the one and only reason why Jesus was not contradicting Himself when declaring: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39) (ESV). May God bless the objective reader who seeks understanding, more than the falsified comfort that this world offers?
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing reliefs to those having witnessed strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long awaited providential oasis of hope.
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