Tag Archives: Lust for Power

Tower of Babel

Eastertide

June 4, 2019

Scripture Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

While this scripture is a puzzlement, I think it is trying to say what Lord Acton said a bit more succinctly in the mid-1800’s, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It is frightening how easy it seems for humans to slip into taking advantage of others simply because they can. Our checks and balances form of government was designed specifically to deflect that from happening in the representative democracy that was formed. We test that premise when one or more of the three areas of government seeks to conquer the others. Combining lust for power with rampant greed can have devastating results with which our government is struggling now. The history of the world does not report good outcomes for other nations that have fallen prey to out-of-control lust for power and greed. Rome’s government disintegrated because it failed to address health issues like the plague and the weather-related challenges of draughts and earthquakes while it continued to grow the greatest and mightiest military in the world.

Lust for power and greed start in the hearts and minds of individuals. They grow exponentially when those individuals come together to maximize their individual wealth. Like a Ponzi scheme they eventually implode negatively impacting everyone and everything in their path.

As followers of Christ we are called to a oneness that is the opposite of lust for power and greed. We are called to find common ground for the common good and that is true of our individual lives, our spiritual lives, and our civic lives.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to any lust for power or greed that is driving our ambitions. Show us how we can grow together as good stewards of your world and all that is in it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Sexual Assault

Living in the Spirit
October 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

 ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   or mortals, that you care for them?
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
   you have crowned them with glory and honor,
subjecting all things under their feet.’

 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying,
‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.’ –Hebrews 2:6b-8, 10-12

Sexual assault and its ramifications are currently in every news report. Of course, sexual assault is not about sex. It is about lust for power and fulfilling some primal need to gain power through violence. It is about trying to prove oneself by meeting some unwritten code that threads through our society. It is the opposite of understanding that all people are created in the image of God and thus each person is a person of worth deserving the respect and dignity that comes with being a child of God. Such respect and dignity including the right of everyone to control the sanctity of their own bodies should be encoded into the character of every child by the time they reach kindergarten. That clearly has not been the outcome in child rearing and education in our culture today.

I heard comments several times this week all from males, that we are ruining people’s lives, primarily the lives of male perpetrators, by bringing up sexual assault issues from their distant pasts. I also heard many testimonies from victims of how their lives were ruined by sexual assault. As a strong supporter of restorative justice, I do not want anyone’s life ruined. The best way to prevent that from happening is to work intentionally toward removing the cultural norms from our society that encourage lust for power fulfilled through violence and measures of self-worth that denigrate. Such changes must start at birth and continue throughout life.

Beyond prevention, perpetrators must acknowledge their past and present actions that caused harm to others and work not only to make amends for them but to clear the ideas that reinforced the behaviors from their way of being. Victims must seek help as needed to return to becoming the person they were created to be.

Prayer: Lord, I sometimes wonder why we humans work so hard at building our own set of values by which to measure our success when you provide a framework for loving that includes all we need to succeed. Clean our mental an spiritual filters so we can be filled with your ways. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Light

Christmas
January 1, 2018

Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1-8

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.  –Genesis 1:1-5

Starting a new year with the story of creation is fitting. Even more fitting, the story of creation starts with light. We are in the process of celebrating the Light of Christ coming into the world in human form. Light opens new doors of understanding as the dark shadows disappear and we see more clearly.

Our society is currently having problems processing that which is clearer now. We are more racist than we thought we were. Sexual harassment is more a norm than the exception. Greed and lust for power are replacing compassion and the Common Good.

Insight is the catalyst for change if we turn around from the negative drivers in our lives and seek God’s guidance in creating a world where all are welcomed and loved, and all have enough of life’s necessities to thrive and develop.

Racism is a form of creating hierarchies of worth to enhance one’s self-esteem. It too gets tangled with greed as it justifies our right to have more than another. Misogyny is lust for power again building up self-esteem by taking control of another.

For some reason, I had a lot of desserts left over from my Christmas dinner. I froze it in individual serving with the intention of eating some of it as a special treat over time. It now calls to me every time I pass the refrigerator enticing me to designate all times as special. Greed works that way as it takes over our lives. It whispers we deserve it even when it is ultimately bad for us. I guess we could say the same thing regarding lust for power.

Christ’s light is available for all to access shining forth to show us a better way of living. It is time we followed his light.

Prayer: Lord, protect us from being enticed by greed and lust for power. Show us your better way. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

What Do We Treasure?

Living in the Spirit
July 30, 2017

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. –Matthew 13:44-46

I worry about the greed and lust for power that is epidemic in our land. It is so common place we accept it as normal. Some intentionally pursue either or both. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible spoke eloquently about these sins, and their words ring true today. I fear our results will be the same as that experienced by the people of ancient Israel if we do not change our behavior.

What do we treasure? It is important to identify what we treasure. Jesus said, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21.) What are you willing to sell everything you have to purchase? Are you willing to sell your soul? Greed devours souls.

Our economic system demands below living wage incomes to reap greater profits, which results in the inability of larger and larger numbers of people to purchase the products being sold. Such a system cannot be sustained. My Mom would have called that cutting off your nose to spite your face.

We see it in our personal lives, and it spills over into our civic lives as cuts are proposed in Social Security and Medicare to pay for increased military spending which has not resulted in peace. It does support the continuation of a vast military industrial complex. Are we destined to be at some level of war forever? Fear undergirds greed.

Prayer: Forgive us of our greed and lust for power. Help us to hear the wisdom of your prophets and Jesus and recognize what our treasures really are. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.