Articles
Thoughts from the Courthouse - 2
Once again I was selected as a juror in a criminal case this past week. The charges presented the possibility of a life sentence. In the juror selection phase, the defense attorney asked prospective jurors if they could exercise that degree of power over another man’s life. It is a sobering question.
There are numerous ways in which some seek to have power over others, most of them bad. Let’s examine a few:
Dominant members in a local church. Some enjoy dominating others because it makes them feel important. They thrive on being respected for knowledge, sought for guidance and admired as a spiritual paragon. Diotrephes was this sort: “who loves to have the preeminence among them” (3 Jn 9). “Loves to have the preeminence” comes from one Greek word, philoproteuo, meaning “to strive to be first” (Vine). This damages a church because such a person will stir up strife and chaos in order to elevate himself and get his way.
Simon, the former sorcerer, had trouble shedding this corrupted element of his character (Ac 8:17-21). Greed was also a factor, as it often is with power. Being able to confer miraculous gifts would give Simon tremendous leverage over others.
Elders in a local church. Elders are not CEOs of the church; they have some measure of “rule” (Heb 13:17), but it doesn’t give them autocratic power to order people to comply with their decisions. Effective elders lead, persuade, entreat, reason and even argue strenuously on some points. But they shy away from heavy handed dominance and authoritarian commands. Rather, they agonize over how much to urge, confront and even correct as they seek to care for the Lord’s sheep: “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Pet 5:3).
Fathers in a family. Sadly, I have witnessed several instances of fathers who run their families like Parris Island. They micromanage everything that goes on in the household. They suffocate their wives and strangle their children with oppressiveness obvious to the casual onlooker. These control freaks have totally lost sight of their leadership authority: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”; “Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Eph 6:4; 5:25). Jesus’ example and instruction are keys to leading a family and autocratic, smothering dictatorialness does not describe Christ’s relation to His church. (Mothers can make the same mistake, but in my experience this seems to affect more men than women.)
Random public encounters. This desire to exercise power over others shows up even in casual settings. People do it while driving, shopping for groceries or working out at the gym. There are the bullies who push others around and try to take whatever they want. This happened to me the other day at the courthouse. I was stepping up to the temperature meter at the entrance and paused to glance at the guard to see if the person in front of me had cleared the metal detector. A woman entered the lobby and instead of waiting her turn literally thrust herself in front of me to get her temperature read. Some think they are entitled to do as they wish even as it infringes upon the normal courtesies and consideration that makes a society run harmoniously.
Sadly, such people broadcast their unsavory qualities to everyone else but either don’t see it or don’t care. They navigate life with impatient privilege, taking advantage of every bit of slack, shoving others out of their way. It is only by the maturity and better manners of their victims that civility is maintained and such friction is resolved peacefully.
There are far too many illustrations of power grabbing to cover in this short article. Scammers prey upon the vulnerable and unsuspecting; dark web computer geeks compile and sell information to fraudulent operators who create elaborate extortion schemes. As they say, knowledge is power, and unprincipled, controlling people know a lot about us. Then there’s the meddling mother-in-law types who want to run their children’s lives and families. The list goes on and on.
In fact, much transgression seems to have at its core the sovereignty of self, the control of others and a domineering spirit that seeks to even subjugate God. Isn’t that the very essence of sin – rebellion against God and an unwillingness to submit to His will?
The obvious problem of seeking such power over others is that we have no right to wrest away their free will. Even if we succeed in gaining control, we fail to better their lives. Trying to dominate others is sheer arrogance; it is the declaration that we know better than the other person or that their own autonomy doesn’t matter. It is merely setting oneself up for disaster: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Pr 16:18); “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6).
On Thursday, we found the defendant guilty of a felony and sentenced him to ten years in prison. It is easy to read that and glibly think, “I guess he got what he deserved.” I may have thought the same thing as well – until I actually had to make such a decision. Let me tell you, it was a heavy burden on the jury which cost us sleepless nights. After the verdict was read, there were tears shed back in the jury room for both the victim and the defendant. Let us be very careful not to trespass into areas that only God can tread. They are off-limits for a reason.
