Being a slave of God

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Faith101

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peace everyone

this was brought up many times on these threads. I as a Muslim am proud to say that I am a SLAVE of the master of the heavens and the earth, Allah.

Some Christians seem to think this is insulting. I just dont understand why. Please share your perspective.

thanks
 
it is probably a cultural thing, since our societal perspective on slavery has changed since the founding of Islam and the Middle Ages, when many Christian spiritual writers referred to true devotion, obedience and trust in God as “slavery”.
 
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Faith101:
peace everyone

this was brought up many times on these threads. I as a Muslim am proud to say that I am a SLAVE of the master of the heavens and the earth, Allah.

Some Christians seem to think this is insulting. I just dont understand why. Please share your perspective.

thanks
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As a Catholic, this is something that I feel I need to strive for. I don’t see anything wrong with this, in the sense that to “give one up” to God is something that is desired.

I guess those Christians who misunderstand the notion of being a ‘slave’ to God simply want to have God on their own terms, not on God’s.

Peace
 
I guess because in our culture, the concept of a “slave” has such a negative connotation, so many I guess would fail to see that’s how we should be–serving Him with no expectation of reward, compensation, or release from His service.

Odd thing–I recently was thinking about this exact thing and spoke to my priest about it. He had such a wonderful suggestion that instead of seeing it only as “slavery” (because of our cultural reaction to the concept) to meditate on being a true “daughter” of the Lord, in that a daughter who loves her Father would also do anything for Him without any expectations of recompense, reward or release from service. It ended up being such a wonderful suggestion for me, so although the concept of “slave” is still with me, a new layer has been added. I know that in a very general sense, I’ve always known we were God’s children, but to truly have being a loving daughter to a loving Father sink in was wonderful!

Penitent
 
I think it’s great. The greatest exercise of free will is obedience.

If one does St. Louis DeMonfort’s total consecration to Jesus through Mary, he suggestes you wear a little chain as a sign that you are a slave to them. 👍
 
Just a reminder, God doesn’t need us, we need him, it’s not like being a slave for him means we work for him like do this and do that, even the acts of worship are for our own benefit. If the master was human, the master would need the slave more than the slave needs him.
"I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allâh is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong." (Qur'an 51:57-58)
 
These attempts to seek common ground will come to naught, I shouldn’t wonder.
 
Salaam everyone;

The slaves of Allah (SWT), from Surah 25 Al-furqan (The Criterion)

“And the slaves of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the foolish ones address them, they say: Peace.
“And they who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing.
“And they who say: O our Lord! turn away from us the punishment of hell, surely the punishment thereof is a lasting
“Surely it is an evil abode and (evil) place to stay.
“And they who when they spend, are neither extravagant nor parsimonious, and (keep) between these the just mean.
“And they who do not call upon another god with Allah and do not slay the soul, which Allah has forbidden except in the requirements of justice, and (who) do not commit fornication and he who does this shall find a requital of sin;
“The punishment shall be doubled to him on the day of resurrection, and he shall abide therein in abasement;
“Except him who repents and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of whom Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
“And whoever repents and does good, he surely turns to Allah a (goodly) turning.
“And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly.
“And they who, when reminded of the communications of their Lord, do not fall down thereat deaf and blind.
“And they who say: O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us guides to those who guard (against evil).
“These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient, and shall be met therein with greetings and salutations.
“Abiding therein; goodly the abode and the resting-place.
“Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for your prayer; but you have indeed rejected (the truth), so that which shall cleave shall come. (Qur’an 25:63-77)

Salaam.
Joseph.
 
As we believe Jesus is God,

Letter from Paul of Tarsus (formerly known as Saul) to Philippians
1 1 Paul and Timothy, slaves 2 of Christ Jesus, to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and ministers: 2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3

Letter of Paul to the Romans

1 1 2 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 3 the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, 4 but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Letter from Paul to Titus

1 1 Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones and the recognition of religious truth, 2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who does not lie, promised before time began, 3 who indeed at the proper time revealed his word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted by the command of God our savior, 4 to Titus, my true child in our common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

and Letter from Jude

1 1 Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, 2 to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ: 2 may mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.

and from the second letter of Peter

1 1 Symeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of equal value to ours through the righteousness of our God and savior Jesus Christ: 2 may grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge 2 of God and of Jesus our Lord.
 
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Penitent:
I guess because in our culture, the concept of a “slave” has such a negative connotation, so many I guess would fail to see that’s how we should be–serving Him with no expectation of reward, compensation, or release from His service.
sink in was wonderful!

Penitent
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But we do get a reward that Muslims do not--that is grace. We have the conduit from heaven thru the sacraments. We have the means of assuring our own salvation--thru confession and reconciliation. Muslims don't ever know if they will go to "heaven", as Allah will do what he wants, he decides- I believe that is called Fatalism. If you do 51% "good" you may join Allah in the afterlife, but not the way we know it. It is Not a loving Father at all, I think the word love when it comes from above is said maybe 5 times in the Koran--so this has nothing to do with our culture connatation, it is a distant and impersonal view of God. How do Muslims know if they achieved 51%? they don't.
 
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Faith101:
peace everyone

this was brought up many times on these threads. I as a Muslim am proud to say that I am a SLAVE of the master of the heavens and the earth, Allah.

Some Christians seem to think this is insulting. I just dont understand why. Please share your perspective.

thanks
Click to expand...
insulting? who would think that way?
 
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kristyn:
But we do get a reward that Muslims do not–that is grace. We have the conduit from heaven thru the sacraments. We have the means of assuring our own salvation–thru confession and reconciliation. Muslims don’t ever know if they will go to “heaven”, as Allah will do what he wants, he decides- I believe that is called Fatalism. If you do 51% “good” you may join Allah in the afterlife, but not the way we know it. It is Not a loving Father at all, I think the word love when it comes from above is said maybe 5 times in the Koran–so this has nothing to do with our culture connatation, it is a distant and impersonal view of God. How do Muslims know if they achieved 51%? they don’t.
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Narrated By Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The good deeds of any person will not make him enter Paradise." (i.e., None can enter Paradise through his good deeds.) They (the Prophet's companions) said, 'Not even you, O Allah's Apostle?' He said, "Not even myself, unless Allah bestows His favor and Mercy on me." So be moderate in your religious deeds and do the deeds that are within your ability: and none of you should wish for death, for if he is a good doer, he may increase his good deeds, and if he is an evil doer, he may repent to Allah."
 
15 No longer do I give you the name of servants; because a servant is without knowledge of what his master is doing. 16 You did not take me for yourselves, but I took you for myself; and I gave you the work of going about and producing fruits which well be for ever; so that whatever request you make to the Father in my name he may give it to you. 17 So this is my law for you.

John 15:15-17
 
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kristyn:
But we do get a reward that Muslims do not–that is grace.
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I know we do get a reward, and I would certainly consider heaven a reward as well as the graces received here, but what I was talking about is serving Him anyway…I guess we all should be of the mind that we would do His will no matter what, even if His will were for us to NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven (and no need to argue this point, LOL, I know that isn’t correct). I mean serving Him just because of Who He is and not because of the promises or because of the rewards here–we should serve Him even if He sends us no grace and suffering-filled lives.

Penitent
 
Is ‘slave’ same as ‘servant’ per se? B’c I refer to myself as ‘servant’ when communicating with God and refer to everyone else good or bad, moslem or not, christian or atheist, or the whole world as children of God in my prayers.
 
cute2904 said:
15 No longer do I give you the name of servants; because a servant is without knowledge of what his master is doing. 16 You did not take me for yourselves, but I took you for myself; and I gave you the work of going about and producing fruits which well be for ever; so that whatever request you make to the Father in my name he may give it to you. 17 So this is my law for you.

John 15:15-17
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Are you saying that Paul was wrong when he called himself “slave of Jesus” ?
 
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Faith101:
Are you saying that Paul was wrong when he called himself “slave of Jesus” ?
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Of course Paul was not wrong called himself ‘slave of Jesus’ . The verse that I quote you was the saying of Jesus himself according to John. If God himself already confirmed to us that He is Father for all of us, I dont think why we still think we are slave of Him. Beside I tell you once again, it is not about the words, its about the meaning behind the word itself. The relation that slave & master have, compare to what father & children have.
 
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Penitent:
I know we do get a reward, and I would certainly consider heaven a reward as well as the graces received here, but what I was talking about is serving Him anyway…I guess we all should be of the mind that we would do His will no matter what, even if His will were for us to NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven (and no need to argue this point, LOL, I know that isn’t correct). I mean serving Him just because of Who He is and not because of the promises or because of the rewards here–we should serve Him even if He sends us no grace and suffering-filled lives.

Penitent
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Yes, I agree we should serve God not because of rewards, that is an immature way of thinking. The Christian God IS love, he only wills good for us, so, of course, we will do his will. The Muslim God is NOT love, and does not ask that we freely come to him, as Christ does. I hope I am getting my point across, I am very tired tonight, and my thinking is a bit muddled. Maybe my fellow Catholics can elaborate on this point.
 
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kristyn:
Yes, I agree we should serve God not because of rewards, that is an immature way of thinking. The Christian God IS love, he only wills good for us, so, of course, we will do his will. The Muslim God is NOT love, and does not ask that we freely come to him, as Christ does. I hope I am getting my point across, I am very tired tonight, and my thinking is a bit muddled. Maybe my fellow Catholics can elaborate on this point.
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peace kristyn

Please bring **proof ** of the statments that i have bolded in your post.

We have talked about these issues many times on this forum…if you are misunderstanding something in Islamic beliefs that is causing you to draw such wrong conclusions, then I do not mind explaining our beliefs about God and our relationship with Him, again.
 
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kristyn:
Yes, I agree we should serve God not because of rewards, that is an immature way of thinking. The Christian God IS love, he only wills good for us, so, of course, we will do his will. The Muslim God is NOT love, and does not ask that we freely come to him, as Christ does. I hope I am getting my point across, I am very tired tonight, and my thinking is a bit muddled. Maybe my fellow Catholics can elaborate on this point.
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Kristyn if you don’t mind me asking how much knowledge of Islam do you have? Do you know the basic Islamic beliefs? Did you ever read the Quran in its entirety? From your above post it is obvious to me that you don’t so please learn before you speak.
 
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