Faithfully yours - Everyone answers to someone

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Published on Sunday, February 25, 2018

Neil Strohschein
Neepawa Banner & Press

The cartoon says it all in one panel. A seven year old boy is sitting in the corner, obviously being punished for something. His nine year old sister comes home, sees him sitting there and asks: “What’s the problem here?” The boy, obviously referring to his mother, replies: “Power corrupts! Absolute power corrupts absolutely!” We laugh at that scene—as we should; for getting us to laugh was the intent of the one who drew the panel. But let’s not laugh too loudly or for too long. There is far more truth to the cartoon’s caption than most of us would care to admit.

History is filled with stories of people who have been corrupted by power. They come from all walks of life. Some are well known. Others are not. But they all have one thing in common. Ego (self) is their god and everything they do is done in their own strength, by their own wisdom and for their own glory. Often, they are guilty of using and abusing those they lead and for whom they are supposed to care; and they see very little, if anything wrong in what they are doing.

Authority figures aren’t the only ones who can be corrupted by power. Each of us will, at some time in our lives be tempted to make and live by our own rules and use what power we have to impose our will on others.

Well, we’re in good company. Even Jesus, God revealed in human form, had to face this urge. In what some scholars call the “Temptation Narrative” (see Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13), the Devil (the tempter) presents Jesus with three challenges. The first is: “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.”

This challenge came at the end of 40 days of intense conflict between the two. In that time, the Devil threw every challenge he could devise at Jesus. Jesus, in turn, resisted them all—never giving in to the Devil’s demands or following his advice.

By the end of the 40 days, the Devil was running out of ideas. Jesus, we are told, had eaten nothing during those days and could well have been sleep deprived. So he  was running out of strength. This, the Devil thought, would be the ideal time to offer this suggestion.

There was much more to this challenge than what the gospel writers record. The Devil was challenging Jesus to use his creative power to satisfy his own needs—to provide for his own comfort—to satisfy his desires before reaching out to and meeting the needs of others.

That was something that Jesus could not and would not do. He had come to earth vowing to do only those things that pleased his heavenly father. He would eat; but he would only eat the food his father provided and he would only eat it when it was provided. He had placed himself under God’s authority. Obedience to God and doing God’s will were his first priorities.

Abuse of power and betrayal of trust may get us some perks in this life. But they won’t last forever. Everything we attain will pass to someone else when we die. But the record of what we have done will go with us into the life to come. And one day, when we all stand before God, the abusers will be punished and their victims will receive the justice they deserve.

In this life, everyone answers to someone; and ultimately, we all will answer to God.