Reclaiming the Gospel, Part 5 - Power

Part of me likes to be in charge. I like to call the shots. I like to have others respect me and look to me for guidance, direction, and understanding. That is alright to some degree. The problem is that for far too many of us, we take that to the extreme. We allow ourselves to believe that we have then become more important than others, more worthy than others, more deserving than others. I like my comforts. I don’t want to have to “slave away” at manual labor. Maybe I don’t consider it beneath me, but I am more than willing to pay someone else to do it than to get myself hot, tired, and sweaty. While I am sitting in my air-conditions home or office, however, the two-thirds of humanity that does not have that luxury have slipped my mind.

They are definitely not in charge. They are definitely not the ones calling the shots. For that matter, nor am I. On the other hand, I have a lot more power and influence that most of the world of humanity. I have a much larger degree of control over my life. I am wealthy beyond reason for many. After all, each of my family members has their own bedroom, their own bed, and we have a guest room besides. We rarely miss a meal, and when we do it’s because we could not be bothered to stop and eat. That is power and control, even if I do not so categorize it as such. With three cars among four of us, we have transportation to get us anywhere we need or really want to go.

Those are all things I take for granted as a member of the developed world, as a US citizen, and as one who has enjoyed the benefits of a graduate degree and further education besides. These trappings, however, are not tied to my particular worth. They are not the product of my energy, drive, application, perseverance, and hard work. Most of it is the product of having been born to a white, middle-class family with good access to education and a support structure that included a society that did not disadvantage me for gender, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, or economic status.

I wield power and control over my own life and impact the lives of others for reasons that have little to nothing to do with my faith, my church affiliation, my profession, or any other measure of my individual achievements or qualities. I wield far more power, control, and influence on the lives of others around me that I could earn on my own. We call it white privilege. We call it male privilege. Then there is a degree of respect and authority I am conferred by my ministry ordination, by my education, my background, and by my familial relationships.

The bulk of that comes not from anything related to the gospel of Jesus. It comes from a society, or indeed societies, that give unwarranted value to specific categories of people above other categories, classes, and groups. Under the good news of Jesus, however, none of that matters one whit. Under the gospel of God’s Reign, there are really only two measures by which I am granted worth or status. The first is simply that I am loved by God. On that count, we are all loved by God, even down to the Burmese pythons we have allowed to invade Florida, the fire ants I would prefer to poison, and those spiders my wife despises. The second, is that I have attempted to live in accord with God’s principles and values flowing from love.

That second does not grant me greater worth than others, per se. It simply reinforces my belonging to God and God’s Reign. As Jesus put it, those deemed great in God’s Reign are those who are willing to give the entirety of their lives in service to others. That is so contrary to the many ways we have organized, exalted, and upheld leaders within Christendom.

We have acted as though those who have become prominent should rightly be rewarded financially in accord with the principles of “The American Dream.” The gospel would tell us they should expect to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have done nothing more than your duty.” That pretty much excludes that penchant for control, for respect, for prominence, for celebrity, and for wealth if I am to accept the claim of God’s Reign over my life. God’s Reign is not about giving me power over other people. It is not about bringing me to prominence. It is not about bringing me wealth and comfort. It’s not about me telling others what they can or can’t do. It’s not about being in control or the “In-group.” Those things are pretty much antithetical to the values of God’s Reign.

“No, if one wants to be great in God’s Reign, they must be the servant of all, and if they want to be the first among you, they must be your slave—just as the Son of Man has not come to be served, but to serve and give his life to set others free” (Matthew 20:26). “Let this manner of thinking be in you as was in Christ Jesus, who though he was God did not cling to that status, but emptied himself to become a servant…” (Philippians 2:5-7a). This goes back to the issue of God’s character of love, grace, and doing on our behalf what we could not do for ourselves. If God is not in the business of controlling other through manipulation, power contests, or wielding the tools of politics, that is really off limits for those who would participate in God’s Reign. We are given the power to do good. That is the power we should be wielding, and no other.

#Power #Gospel #GoodNews #Force #Coercion #Politics #ChristianNationalism #Love #AmericanDream #Superiority #Servant #Service #Control

— ©Copyright 2023, Christopher B. Harbin 

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