CREATING VALUE SYSTEMS

DAY 338

Matthew 8:6 Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

The parable in today’s Gospel has multiple strands to pull on: the healing itself, the understanding of authority, or the commendation of faith. However, the strand of focus is ‘the character of the centurion towards his servant.

For a man with such command, in charge of a hundred soldiers, it would seem an easier option to simply recruit another servant. Instead, he decided to implore Jesus for the healing of the one servant who was paralysed and suffering. The question is why?

What comes to mind is a phrase commonly heard in military ranks ‘leave no man behind’ and it became apparent that this centurion saw the servant as part of his ranks. That value system was thus the driving force behind his actions. In effect, he wasn’t forced to, he only did what he only would have done normally.

Each of us then, has to strive to establish and abide by a code of conduct, a value system that continually honours God and seeks the best for others.

#sly