Political Saturday

I Kings 16

30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight

of the LORD above all that were before him.

31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light

thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the

son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the

daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and

went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the

house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to

provoke the LORD G-d of Israel to anger than all

the kings of Israel that were before him.


This has been a week busy with political events,

judging from the newspaper headlines. And on

Monday, we celebrate Labor Day.


Whenever the subject of politics comes to the

forefront, just as it does during these times,

the word hubris comes to mind.

"Aristotle defined hubris as follows: to cause

shame to the victim, not in order that anything

may happen to you, nor because anything has

happened to you, but merely for your own

gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past

injuries; this is revenge. As for the pleasure in

hubris, its cause is this: men think that by

ill-treating others they make their own

superiority the greater."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris


And that's the level of public discourse related

to modern politics. Say something negative about

the other candidate in order to make yourself

look more appealing. But in the end, it leaves

me with no sense of admiration for all concerned.

What I tend to pay closest attention to is which

candidates draw criticism from which

spokespersons. It's the clearest indication, to

me, of what candidates are really like. Those

outspoken members of the opposition let you know

what candidates are likely to believe. You can

tell who a person is by who their enemies are.


The thing that I dislike the most about politics

is the deception and compromise. One reason for

that is because I don't believe that it's always

that difficult to know the difference between

what's right and wrong. But that's not the

language of politics. As I understand it, the

language of politics is making deals. In other

words, it's nothing but a swamp of compromise.

I realize that there isn't

much interest in doing what's right. I realize

that many people are far too compromised

personally to ever be able to have even a faint

desire to do what's right. So in the end,

politics is simply a reflection of the corruption

that exists at the personal level. And it's

always been that way. I won't be able to fix it.


Whenever I think of politics, what often comes to

mind is the record of King Ahab in hebrew

scripture, and his charming wife Jezebel. The

story goes on over the course of several

chapters, the kingdom of man represented by Ahab

and Jezebel versus the kingdom of heaven

represented by Elijah. It seems that the general

populace was apathetic.


"Apathy (also called impassivity or

perfunctoriness) is a state of indifference,

where an individual has an absence of interest or

concern to certain aspects of emotional, social,

or physical life.

History

Apathy etymologically derives from the Greek

απάθεια (apatheia), a term used by the Stoics to

signify indifference for what one is not

responsible for (that is, according to their

philosophy, all things exterior, one being only

responsible of his representations and

judgments).

Many Christians believe that the concept was then

reappropriated by Christians, who adopted the

term to express a contempt of all earthly

concerns, a state of mortification, as (they

claim) the gospel prescribes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apathy


I Kings 18

17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah,

that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that

troubleth Israel?

18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel;

but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have

forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou

hast followed Baalim.

19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all

Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of

Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets

of the groves four hundred, which eat at

Jezebel's table.

20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel,

and gathered the prophets together unto mount

Carmel.

21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said,

How long halt ye between two opinions? if the

LORD be G-d, follow him: but if Baal, then follow

him. And the people answered him not a word.


Elijah was not the type given to apathy, even

though the popular majority showed indifference

toward Baal worship. '...the people answered him

not a word.' As I see it, things are not that

much different today. It's well known that many

eligible voters don't bother to go to the polls.

One of the primary reasons is that people have

the sense that they are not being represented by

the 'system' and they sense that there is little

interest on the part of any within the power

structure to do what's right. In other words,

there are many people who recognize that the

nature of compromise, the compromise within

politics and personal compromise prevent

constructive action. On the other hand, Elijah

had the attitude that even if he was the only

one, he would take a stand against evil.


18:22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I

only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's

prophets are four hundred and fifty men.


Nothing's changed much over the years. Politics

is still mired in compromise, the public is mired

in apathy and personal compromise. And there are

still a few who can't sell out in spite of the

fact that they will be marginalized and socially

stigmatized. Another thing that hasn't changed

is that there is still a difference between right

and wrong, between truth and error. Political

process won't lead us there, popular apathy won't

take us there, but the kingdom of heaven will

eventually arrive in the fullness of time.

Elijah did what needed to be done, in his time.

He brought an end to Baal worship, although it

was not completely eliminated until years later

when Jehu became king.


Over the next few chapters, the story of Ahab and

Jezebel continues. It's a sad story of continued

compromise and apathy, characterized by endless

conflict. Corrupt leadership brings only misery

upon a nation. And during their reign, Ahab and

Jezebel brought a great deal of misery upon their

people. In other words, compromise is not the

virtue that it is advertised to be. It is a

practice that bears the fruit of misery, as it

was under the rule of Ahab and Jezebel.


You can come to your own conclusions about how

this carries over into modern society. Just like

me, you can examine the social metrics and take

stock of your own personal situation. Do you

believe that things are heading in the right

direction? Personally, I find evidence that the

misery index is already into the high-stress

range, and the kingdom of man is on a course that

will only generate more of the same and increased

conflict. Look around.


On the other hand, the kingdom of heaven offers

an alternative. And the day will come when Jesus

retuns to set the record straight. In the

definition of apathy, the wikipedia entry says

that christians... 'adopted the term to express a

contempt of all earthly concerns, a state of

mortification, as (they claim) the gospel

prescribes.' I don't know how anyone can arrive

at that conclusion, if they've ever read the

gospels. In fact Jesus taught that christians

were to pursue the kingdom of heaven while here

on earth, to do his will in the here and now.

Sure, it's at odds with popular culture. But the

Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans, 'And be

not conformed to this world: but be ye

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye

may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and

perfect, will of G-d.' Rom. 12:2 That would not

provide an excuse for personal compromise and

apathy or a 'state of mortification', as the wiki

entry suggests. In spite of the confusion that

rules the kingdom of man, christians are to be

ruled by the peace that characterizes knowing and

doing the 'will of G-d'. That's an alternative

to the kingdom of man.