Understanding the cause
In talking about legacies and leadership we need to take a look at how close the line is between good ones vs. bad ones.
Sometimes what looks good or sounds plausible on the surface turns out to be rotten tomatoes once we take a bite. Historical and Biblical examples abound.
On the historical side, we have the original French Revolution of 1793. The motto of that revolution was, Liberty, Fraternity, Equality. Good words those, maybe echoing the principles behind our own Revolution. Who could disagree with that? But the French Revolution took a different turn than ours. The man who became its de facto leader, Robespierre, came up with the concept of Civic Virtue. Again, good words, but in practice what they meant was anything but. For him protecting the State from those who disagreed with the revolution meant that neighbors should rat out neighbors, family members other family members. Then the secret police could round up the reactionaries. Prison without due process, even execution, became the norm in Paris and the surrounding countryside. The Cause became more important than the people it was supposed to liberate and protect.
On the Biblical side we have the original Old Testament zealots. They felt the Law given to Moses by God needed protection. To ensure spiritual and civil purity and preserve the nation they decided to help out. Who could object to trying to live a righteous life, right? So the zealots came up with 600 or so extra laws, building a fence of precepts around the God-given Law to preserve it. The problem became the fact that literally nobody could keep track of the subtleties of these precepts, let alone remember and act in accordance with them all. The upshot was the formation of an elite group that prided themselves on their understanding of their own extraneous rules. The effort to live righteously became the property of stuck-up snobs that condemned those they considered unworthy and uninformed. This time laws became more important than the people to whom they were given as a guide.
In case you haven’t guessed by now, these elites became known as Pharisees.
C.S. Lewis had a few things to say about this kind of slippage from Good, to “Seeming Good, to Disguised Evil.” The bottom lines were two. The first we have already seen. The day when the Cause becomes more important than the people it is supposed to serve is the day the Cause has gone completely off the rails. But underneath even that is something more fundamental. The day the Cause or the people become more important than the God who died for and cherishes those people, things are on the verge of going off the rails.
As Christians we have a template given to us, a generalized kind of process that can be tailored to fit specific situations. It goes like this. God motivates and guides. Cause is a set of parameters and a specific goal or set of goals to attain. People are the focus and beneficiaries of the Cause, not the Cause itself.
Cause is neither the beginning nor the end of the process. In taking it out of its proper place, we deceive ourselves. Jesus had something to say about the results of this deception. “Knowing the correct password – saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance – isn’t going to get you anywhere with Me. What is required is serious obedience – doing what My Father wills. I can see it now – at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to Me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use Me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress Me one bit. You’re out of here.’” (Matthew 7:21-23, The Message)
Right now the boat and its Captain are still in port. Come aboard, and bring some fresh tomatoes!
(Philip Severi, a former Bishop resident, previously wrote a weekly column for The Inyo Register.)
“Jesus lives the victory’s won. Death no loner can appall me. Jesus lives death’s reign is done, from the grace Christ shall recall me. Brighter scenes shall then commence. This shall be my confidence. LSB #490
This is a hymn verse which I will continue to use as a prayer before delivering my sermons during the Easter season. A helpful tool for your own individual growth and for the inspiration of faith in your family is to recite before mealtimes a verse that brings to mind our living hope. Begin this tradition in Easter and throughout the season recite a verse. When Pentecost season begins pick a new one on which to focus your spiritual attention.
“Attention!” shouts the captain of the army. “ATTENTION!” shouts the captain of our salvation. “I am alive forevermore and I hold the key to heaven. The rough, splintering, wooden cross attempted to be my demise. Satan tried to handle me, the grave tried to hold me. But, I am alive forevermore.
The two-ton stone, the battalion of soldiers, the false teachers, and Pontius Pilate could not stop me. They are merely sticks and stones. I am alive forevermore!”