Tag Archives: Power

Chapter-a-Day

People of the Lie

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Source: Amelie via Flickr who states: "Sauron's eye: my church is turning evil!" Great shot.
Source: Amelie via Flickr who states: “Sauron’s eye: my church is turning evil!” Great shot.

You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. Ezekiel 11:8 (NIV)

Looking back across my life journey, one of the books I’ve realized has had a profound affect on me through the years is M. Scott Peck’s exploration of evil, The People of the Lie. We don’t talk much about evil anymore, or at best it is relegated to descriptive quips about people we don’t like (e.g. “She’s an evil woman!”) or discussions of the heinous extremes of history (e.g. Hitler, Serial Killers, Cult leaders, and etc.). Peck’s book raises a thought provoking conversation about the nature of evil as it exists in ordinary human beings who live ordinary lives in ordinary communities like ours.

I thought about The People of the Lie this morning as I read about Ezekiel’s vision. Most of the Old Testament prophecies are directed at nations and peoples, but in today’s chapter God’s judgement is proclaimed on specific individuals: Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. These leaders in Jerusalem appear to have been self-centric power brokers, the ancient Jerusalem version of mafia dons. They wielded power, influence, and financial gain through violence, and the text hints that they smugly thought that they had avoided the exile because they were favored by the gods. Their description aligns with some of the symptoms of evil Peck outlines.

Addressing them, God tells Ezekiel to proclaim to these men: “You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you.” One of the things Peck observed in his work on evil is that evil only responds to one thing: force. You can’t persuade evil people to reform or make deals with them as their nature will lead them to, again and again, deceive you for their own advantage. They fear only force, just as God describes Jaazaniah and Assur.

Today, I am reminded that evil does not confine itself to serial killers and megalomaniacal leaders. Evil is ever present in small towns among ordinary community members who look and talk and appear to be normal people just like me. In fact, if I am not careful, evil can and will affect and influence my own heart. Jesus warned:

For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person;

Before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed for His followers:

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

I am thinking today about the thoughts that come out of my heart on a regular basis. I’m thinking about ways that I allow myself to be blind to and influenced by evil. I am echoing Jesus’ prayer for protection in this world from becoming or being influenced by a “person of the lie.”

Chapter-a-Day

Enjoy the Dance

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source: 10148140@N07 via Flickr
source: 10148140@N07 via Flickr

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
1 Kings 11:1-2 (NIV)

Wendy and I have had held a running conversation throughout our relationship. It ebbs and flows. It weaves its way into our conscious thought, then goes away for a time. Its the never ending subject of Mars and Venus, male and female, man and woman. Wendy has publicly made the comment many times that she knows she can easily manipulate me any time she wants to do so. I, on the other hand, know that I can put my foot down and forcefully demand my way when I desire. So it goes, the give and take of power, control and negotiation within marriage. It has been mysterious ebb and flow of relationship between men and women since the Garden of Eden.

Solomon was a wise man in many ways, but he had a fatal flaw. Solomon loved women. He loved a lot of women. According to today’s chapter the dude had 700 wives “of royal birth.” Most of these were likely to have been arranged marriages with the daughters of kings and rulers throughout the region. A king threatened by Solomon’s power would give his daughter to Solomon in marriage figuring that his son-in-law would want to maintain an amicable relationship with family. Solomon also had 300 concubines. These were likely girls of a lower social class that Solomon saw, desired, and attained by leveraging his royal authority. How interesting that Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, was attained by his father David in a similar manner.

While I am married to one women, God has seen fit to surround me with females. Along with Wendy I have daughters Taylor, Madison who still stand under my umbrella, and sister-in-law Suzanna who has joined us under our roof. I will admit that I, at times, find it wearying to navigate my relationships with all the women in my life. They are each unique with their own unique personality, communication style, needs, and wants. I can’t even fathom trying to navigate relationship 997 other women at the same time. It would be impossible.

As a man, however, I can imagine that Solomon had his favorites among his 1,000 wives and concubines. I also imagine that Solomon’s wives were constantly, actively vying for power and position. They would have had to manipulate people, situations, and Solomon himself in order to gain attention and favor. The political intrigue within the royal harem had to have been intense.

There is also no way that Solomon could have meaningful relationship and influence over so many women from so many different tribes and backgrounds. His foreign wives would naturally want to worship their foreign gods. Solomon needed to keep the peace among all his wives. It’s not hard for me to imagine how it all went wrong. Solomon allowed his wives to worship the gods of their people. He had some favorite wives he wanted to make happy and compliant, and so when they wanted Solomon to build a shrine to their god  he found it easier to say “Yes, dear. Whatever you want.”

Today, I am thinking about men and women. I am appreciative of the beautiful, strong women God has placed in my life and all that I learn about both God and life in the ebb and flow of our relationships. I am thinking about what it means to be a man and how I am called to bring balance to those relationships. I am thinking about fatal flaws and what happens if I don’t capably play my part. It is an eternal mystery, this dance of relationship between male and female. I have more questions than answers. I’m just trying to:

  • lead well
  • avoid stepping on any feet
  • enjoy the dance.
Chapter-a-Day

Outside the Systems

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Bronze prutah minted by Pontius Pilate. Revers...
Bronze prutah minted by Pontius Pilate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
Luke 2:1-2;19-20 (NIV)

In yesterday’s chapter, Luke related the story of Simeon who told Jesus’ mother that Jesus would cause the “rising and falling of many.” Now he lays out the political landscape of the day. The land at that time was under Roman occupation, so the Roman emperor (Tiberius Caesar) ultimately ruled along with the Roman governor in charge of the occupational force (Pilate). Then there was the local civic leaders, the sons of Herod the Great who operated the region as a client-state of Rome. For the people of Israel, they also answered to the religious authorities led by the high-priest Annas and his son-in-law, Caiaphas. Talk about a political mess.

Into this midst of this mess strides John, the cousin of Jesus. Luke introduced us to John’s story in the first chapter. John is out in the wilderness. While visiting Israel years ago I visited an archaeological site in the wilderness of southern Israel. At the time of Jesus, there was a community residing there who lived frugal, hermitic lives very similar to the monks in medieval monasteries. This community preached and practiced baptism and archaeologists had unearthed baptismal pools. Because the men were celibate in this community, they took in orphans as both a community service (orphans were a huge societal problem in that day) and to perpetuate their ranks.

Luke does not delve into the particulars of John’s life, but we know that his parents were old when he was born. It is quite possible that they died while he was young and he was sent to this community to be raised. There, he would have been taught to live off of the land, would have been educated in the scriptures, and they would have instilled in him the importance of ritual baptism.

I find it interesting that Luke lays out the landscape of political power, then introduces us to John who suddenly appears on the landscape like an ancient prophet out of the desert.  John is not from inside any of the political or religious systems of that day. He is an outsider, preaching against the corruption and greed which the political systems bred. It would land him in prison.

Today I am thinking about the systems in which I live and work. Political systems, corporate systems, religious systems, and family systems. It’s amazing how we live within these systems and are influenced by them constantly without giving them much thought. I find it fascinating that both John and Jesus were outsiders. The Kingdom of God, which Jesus would preach to the world, is not an earthly Kingdom or system. Despite humanity’s constant effort to institutionalize it (which always leads to corruption), it remains a calling for those who are willing to follow a path outside of earthly systems.

Chapter-a-Day

Inevitable Corruption

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English: Painting, 1856, by Junius Brutus Stea...
English: Painting, 1856, by Junius Brutus Stearns, Washington at Constitutional Convention of 1787, signing of U.S. Constitution. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They also cast lots, just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest. 1 Chronicles 24:31 (NIV)

Wherever there is power there is corruption. It is as true in a church as it is in politics. When there is a lot of money involved, it happens faster and runs deeper.

I have seen this very thing at work in churches, where large donors influence decisions and control circumstances behind closed doors. As a young man I worked in a county office building and I watched the corruption and power of a political machine and the union doing whatever they wanted despite what was legal. Even in my quaint, small, town with its scrubbed streets and squeaky clean religious legacy I have seen individuals and families who are power brokers, wielding tremendous influence from behind the scenes.

I find it interesting that in the selection of priests for the new temple, David made a legitimate effort to keep things equitable. The casting of lots (think of it like drawing straws) was an ancient practice of letting fate or God decide things. Like all societies there were prominent families, and less prominent ones. There were those with more wealth than others. The casting of lots was meant to keep anyone from influencing their role in the temple.

It was a nice thought.

As time went on, corruption took over. There was money to be made. Whoever controlled the priesthood controlled the temple and with it all of the food, supplies, stores, and money that was offered daily. By the time Jesus would appear on the scene a millennia later, the temple leadership had become reminiscent of a mafia family running a religious racket, which is what Jesus was really addressing when he drove the moneychangers out of the temple (twice).

I am reminded this morning that there is little I can do against human corruption which is at work in almost every human endeavor. It cannot be avoided because sin is at work in all of us, and sin will always lead human beings to grab after power and control. David tried. It’s the same with the framers of the U.S. Constitution who separated powers so that there would be checks and balances between the branches of government. They were trying to stave off the corruption that they saw in every other system of government. I read the headlines daily and begin to feel that they were no more successful than David.

So what can I do? I can work to keep my own heart pure, avoid corruption in my own spheres if influence, confront corruption where I see it, and exercise wisdom in knowing when to speak and when to be silent.

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Life is Messy [Shocking]

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Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. 2 Samuel 2:4 (NIV)

Life gets messy. When individuals and complex systems of individuals are all navigating their disparate paths and personal agendas, the results are inevitably going to include conflict. Tracing David’s path from being anointed king as a young man and his ascension to the throne of Israel is a meandering path through some very messy personal and political terrain.

King Saul is dead, but that doesn’t mean that David’s path to the throne is now less messy. Just the opposite. Things are going to get even messier. David’s family belongs to the tribe of Judah, and with the death of Saul the men of Judah move quickly to anoint David as their king. There are 12 tribes in Israel, however, and Judah’s brash act of independence reveals a schism between Judah and the other tribes that foreshadows centuries of bloody civil unrest to come when the nation splits in two during the reign of David’s grandson.

David is now King of Judah and its vast southern territory. The remnants of Saul’s political machine are not, however, eager to lose power or cede control of the nation to Judah’s famous outlaw. David was, after all, the young man Saul had designated as #1 on his most wanted list. Saul’s general, Abner, has is own political agenda. Abner sets up Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth as King of Israel and, no doubt, his puppet. Let the games begin.

Today I am again reminded of how messy life can get. Even as time and events lead towards divine ends, the journey is fraught with difficulties, dangers, toils and snares both personal and corporate. History should teach us that this has always been the case east of Eden, but I find we humans constantly surprised by the reality of it. In midst of the mess I’ve found no other recourse than to spiritually focus on the basics:

  1. Love God.
  2. Love others.
  3. Seek God’s kingdom first

… and then to press on one step, one day, at a time in the right direction.

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Chapter-a-Day

Delicacies and Darkness

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A pastry infused with dark chocolate and served with dark chocolate sauce from Casa Cortes ChocoBar in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A pastry infused with dark chocolate and served with dark chocolate sauce from Casa Cortes ChocoBar in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
    do not let me eat their delicacies.
Psalm 141:4 (NIV)

Wendy and I returned home from our cruise late on Saturday night. We had an amazing time (more about that in another post). If you have ever been on a cruise, you know that there are some incredible delicacies to be experienced both on the ship and in the various ports of call. On Tuesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico we stopped in at Casa Cortes ChocoBar. The restaurant and bar infuses everything they make with chocolate. They even serve grilled cheese sandwiches with dark chocolate dipping sauce! Having just eaten at another restaurant, Wendy and I only ordered drinks and dessert, but the experience was certainly a tasty highlight of our trip.

In the psalm this morning, King David’s lyrics use the word picture of “delicacies” to embody the concept of being tempted and drawn in by evil. After a week of being mindful of my appetites amidst a seemingly endless supply of scrumptious food and desserts, it was not hard for my mind to make the connection.

Along my life’s journey I’ve observed that evil generally follows a fairly simple playbook. The strategy is to take a healthy human appetite and then feed it incessantly until it is perverted into a spiritual snare. There was absolutely nothing wrong or evil with any tasty treat on the menu this past week, but if I allow my natural appetite for food to indulge its craving over and over and over again without restraint then I will find myself trapped both spiritually and in jeans that won’t fit me any longer.

  • Our appetite for food gives way to gluttony, over eating, and unhealthy consequences.
  • Our appetite for sex gives way to adultery, pornography, and unhealthy consequences.
  • Our appetite for industry gives way to greed, power, and unhealthy consequences.
  • Our appetite for rest gives way to sloth, indulgence, and unhealthy consequences.
  • Etc.
  • Etc.

We do not avoid these spiritual traps without being mindful of our appetites. Our hearts are easily drawn to delicacies which are not evil in themselves, but will stimulate our appetites to crave more than what is good for us. Today as I wrestle back into my daily routine after a week of many delicacies I am, like David, praying for a little grace and strength to keep my appetites in check.

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There are No Lesser Roles

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choices choices_SnapseedThree different times I begged the Lord to take [my suffering] away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-9a

I am currently in the middle of casting a show for our local community theatre. I had a lot of people try out and there are many roles to fill. In all my years of working on the stage I know that the vast majority of people are wanting to be cast in one of the major, lead roles. This show has a host of smaller “bit” parts and I know that many people will be disappointed when they see that they have been cast in one of these “lesser” roles. Most people think that bit parts are by definition worse parts and that being cast in them means that they are considered lesser actors or have been maligned in some way. But, as a director, actor and playwright I don’t see it that way and it grieves me to know that people will be disappointed by my casting decisions.

Most stories and plays have “bit” parts because they are crucial to the telling and they often provide for some of the most important and entertaining moments. As a director, I pay close attention to the smaller parts and consider the casting of the bit parts to be among the most crucial decisions I make. In some cases, a “lesser” role is so important to the story that I only want to cast a strong actor whom I can trust in that role. Time after time after time I have watched productions in which audiences buzz afterwards about one of the “lesser” characters who played their part so well at such a crucial moment that they “stole the show” from the lead actors.

Shakespeare wrote “All the worlds a stage, and we are all but players in it.” In today’s chapter, Paul realizes a similar lesson about his own role in this life. Like our desire to have the lead role, we all tend to desire the spotlight of power, prestige, fortune, and fame. Paul had learned an important lesson, however. He learned that God, the author of creation and master playwright, is known for a recurring theme: common, lesser, younger, weak, marginalized characters become the most important and powerful pieces of the story. Consider the line up of players like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, John and all twelve of Jesus’ disciples. All of them were considered “weak” and “lesser” in the eyes of the world for various reasons (age, birth order, home of origin, handicap, social status, etc.), but ended up being among the crucial pieces to the Great Story. As God revealed to Paul, He specializes in making weakness a conduit of true power.

Today, I’m thinking about the many ways I feel “weak” on the grand stage of life as I compare myself to those who live in the spotlight of this world. I think about my own feelings of being “less than” and my need to be reminded of an old adage of the stage:  there are no small roles, only small actors. Help me, Lord, to play my role well today.

Chapter-a-Day

Truth Amidst the Noise

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Sarah Ross Photography via Flickr
Sarah Ross Photography via Flickr

Your prophets have said
    so many foolish things, false to the core.
They did not save you from exile
    by pointing out your sins.
Instead, they painted false pictures,
    filling you with false hope.
Lamentations 2:14 (NLT)

When I read about the ancient prophets telling people what they wanted to hear, I can’t help but think of the talking heads I find on every news channel and Sunday morning political talk show. I have gone on record saying that I find myself watching less and less of the news channels and news programs these days. The spinning and distortion of facts to defend untenable political positions happens on every side of the political isle. Whether a socialist regime, a tyrant, a dictatorship, a monarchy, a commonwealth or a representative republic, politics is filled with people who are vying for and clinging to power and all the personal gain it creates.

It was no different in Jeremiah’s day. The story of Jeremiah is a story of Shakespearean proportions. Jeremiah went to great lengths to warn the people of Jerusalem, including the king, that Babylon was coming. He urged the king and people to wake up from their spiritual slumber and repent. Yet Jeremiah stood alone against a host of prophets who spun and distorted the facts to solidify their personal standing and to tell the king and the public what they wanted to hear: everything is okay. Jeremiah was hated, publicly humiliated, persecuted, tortured and imprisoned for speaking the truth. The book of Lamentations is one of the most tragic “I told you so”s in history.

As I progress in my journey I find myself caring more about and concerning myself more with what is really true, and less about political opinions and social rhetoric. Finding what is true amidst the noise of media blasting at us 24/7/365 can be a daunting task. I often feel like a spinning compass seeking true north. To find it, I try to identify nuggets of truth to guide my thoughts.

If you keep going deeper in debt spending money you don’t have, at some point you face financial ruin. That’s true.

Since the beginning of time evil people have done evil things, and when they gain power they do evil things on a grand scale. Evil is not going away. That’s true.

Jesus said there are just two commandments. Love God. Love people. That’s true.

 

I can make a difference, even a small one, in the lives of people with whom I interact today through simple acts of kindness, love, grace and forgiveness. That’s true.

 

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Old Patterns of Thought & Behavior

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Genesis
Reflecting on Genesis (Photo credit: cajaygle)

Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack.2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said. Genesis 44:1 (NLT)

As I’ve been reading through the stories of Genesis once again, I’ve been tracking this pattern of deceit revealed through the generations of Abraham’s family. When we first meet Abraham’s great grandson Joseph, he is revealed to be a boy who speaks to truth simply and plainly (seemingly to his detriment). As a result, he’s sold into slavery and has not been a part of the family for years and years.

How fascinating that as soon as his brothers show up in Egypt, Joseph begins to deal with them deceitfully. He does not immediately reveal who he is. He has things snuck into their sacks. He schemes to have his brother Benjamin brought back to Egypt and now schemes to keep Benjamin in Egypt when the rest of the brothers go home.

Roles and patterns in the way a family systemically operates and behaves is very powerful. I’ve known people who have spent years apart from their unhealthy family system working to understand and change their own behaviors, but once they return to their familial home for a visit they fall right back into their old role within the system. It’s a fascinating thing about the way we broken human beings live and behave in our fallen world.

One of the reasons that I have been and remain a follower of Jesus is because of His promise and provision of divine forgiveness and undeserved favor in spite of my many failings. I’m no different than Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Lamech, Rachel, Leah, Joseph or his brothers. Despite my best efforts to live honestly and truthfully as God would have me do, like Joseph I find myself getting sucked back into old negative patterns of thought and behavior again and again. I need copious doses of God’s forgiveness, mercy and grace.

A second reason I remain a follower of Jesus is because of His promise and provision to bring lasting positive change into my life. Despite my failings I can look back across the years and see the many ways that God’s grown me up, honed me, humbled me, and made me into a better human being. Were it not for God’s non-stop work of convicting, prodding, pushing, guiding and molding me over 30 plus years, I hate to think of the person I would have become.

Today, I’m reminded that no one is immune from falling off the path and back into destructive old patterns and behaviors. I’m equally reminded that God is faithful to both forgive us our failures and empower us towards getting back on the road which leads toward Life.

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Simple Truths Gently Spoken

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Mother Teresa of Calcutta; 1986 at a public pr...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. 1 Corinthians 2:4 (NLT)

In the grand ballroom of the Washington Hilton there gathered a throng of some of the most powerful and influential people in the world. The President of the United States, cabinet members, members of congress, military leaders, ambassadors, diplomats from many countries, religious leaders, authors, and speakers were there together. I was certainly out of place and had no business being among that crowd. I was given an empty seat when a diplomat didn’t show up. To my amazement, it happened to be a seat just a few feet from the podium. Looking around, on the stage and off, the crowd was a Who’s Who of thinkers, leaders, movers, and shakers. I looked down the agenda. The President, because he is the President, got the premiere, final spot on the program that morning.

Right before the President in his polished, for-the-cameras glory would provide the final word, a special guest would take the podium. She was so short that most of the room could not see her face behind the podium. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. That morning I was privileged to hear the diminutive, physically frail Mother Teresa of Calcutta address some of the world’s most powerful individuals.

As she spoke, you could hear a pin drop. I remember feeling Holy Spirit thick in the room in a way I have rarely experienced. Looking back, I remember that she shared simple scriptural truths in a few short minutes. She proclaimed Jesus’ message of love and life. It was powerful in a way you can’t explain in terms of human eloquence or persuasion. Her words were packed with spiritual potency that flows out of a life of self-denial and sacrificial love. I will never forget the experience.

When she was finished, the President was called upon to respond to her words. I have never seen a master politician whose tongue-tied words seemed so foolish and impotent.

As I read this morning’s chapter and the verse above, I was taken back to that ballroom and found myself reliving the moment when a tiny woman from India spoke simple spiritual truths and confounded the most worldly wise people on the planet. It’s a reminder to me that I don’t need to be eloquent. Love coupled with simple truths shared in gentle sincerely are all that Holy Spirit requires to show up in powerful ways.