"Us vs. Them": Friendship & Love

In regard to the idea of the "us vs. them" mentality in service, I found the following written here:

I believe the best remedy for "us vs. them" is in Jesus' words from John 15 in The Book: "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you".

"Us vs. Them" employs hierarchal boundaries of master/servant, daddy/son, king/subject, etc. These are all necessary relationships in one aspect of society or another. But being friends eliminates hierarchies. If two people are truly friends, than one is not higher than the other. [...]

I have found that friendship (ie: relational model) with the poor is the best means of ministry. It not only brings a greater trust between us and them, but those expected to "minister" can also be "ministered to". We're all sinners and ain't none of us got it all figured out in life.

I have learned far more lessons from my "poor" friends and have received from them far more than anything I have given them.

I totally agree that when we attempt to minister, we can also be ministered to in the process. I like the idea of friendship being used to bridge the divide. In the case of Jesus' semantic transformation of His servants into friends, although it would seem to draw the people closer to Him, they are definitely NOT at His level. With Jesus, it is US vs. HIM, yet He became one of us, while maintaining His Him identity. Likewise (but very different :) ), if we pretend there is no class difference, we are ignoring reality. However, the classes should feel free to love, respect, and learn from one another. The us-es are full of sin just as the them-s. However, those who are saved have a responsibility to share God's love with the them-s...and not only the them-s, but with the us-es as well...

Because God loves us and has filled us with His love, why not share a little with all of us and them?

John 13:34-35 - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."