What Is Real Power?

I have to admit something- I love watching Mixed Martial Arts. Even as I am writing this blog, I have Bully Beatdown in the background just to get my fix until next weekend’s pay-per-view event. (For those who have never seen Bully Beatdown, it is a reality show in which they coax a neighborhood bully into getting into the cage with a professional MMA fighter…who then exacts a little lex talionis “eye for an eye”.) As a pastor, I guess I shouldn’t indulge in such a brutal sport, but the strategies are amazingly complex and fascinating, the action is fast-paced and the skill-level of these athletes is so impressive. No wonder it is the fastest growing sport on the planet! Ultimately though, the matches are a display of power.

Of course, MMA is not our only fascination with power. We seemed to be consumed with power in all kinds of arenas. The political realm is always a struggle for power. I watched the various cable news networks with equal fascination as the 2010 mid-term elections came to a close. Did President Obama and the Congress abuse their power in the eyes of the American people from 2008 until the mid-terms? Did the Tea Party garner new power in the political realm? Do the “establishment” Republicans resent the Tea Party’s new influence and feel that their power is being compromised? One of the more influential books on leadership (Leadership on the Line by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky) discusses a key component to good leadership in the chapter entitled, “Think Politically” which is primarily about building networks and expanding your power-base in order to get changes moved forward. One positive example that is offered is the work of Robert Moses, who basically redesigned New York City in the 1930s. With a power base of mayors, governors and a state legislature who gave him eminent domain authority, Moses was able, through long struggles, to change the face of New York City. Of course, in this power move, Moses disrupted whole communities, displaced thousands of people, seized homes, businesses, neighborhoods. While it is a testament to Moses’ shrewd use of connections and networking, the use of power was really an abuse of power…which seems to always, inevitably occur. The now famous comment by Lord Acton is still just as true today as it was when it was first uttered- “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

In light of this constant, it is startling how the Bible turns the ideas of power on their head. Consider for a moment, after the amazing demonstration of power by God at creation, how He moves forward and how He exhibits further demonstrations of His omnipotence.

1) He chooses a wandering, moon-worshipping (Josh. 24:2) nomad named Abram and his wife Sarai to become the conduit of all blessing to a cursed earth.

2) He identifies Himself to Abram/Abraham as El Shaddai, which probably means “God who is sufficient”, which is most suitable at this point in the Genesis story, since Abraham and Sarah are holding on by a string.

3) Consider the names of the two mid-wives at the beginning of Exodus. That we would even know the names of these two socially insignificant people because of their heroic act of protecting the Hebrew baby boys is baffling (for the record, their names are Shiphrah and Puah). But when we consider that we are never told the Pharaoh’s name (you know, the most powerful political leader in the world at that time), we get another glimpse of who is important, significant, powerful in God’s economy.

4) And what about Ruth? Sandwiched in between the books of Judges and Samuel (at least in the Christian Bible), between the shift from regional tribal leaders to one overlord, a king, is this story about a Moabite widow and how she falls in love with a Hebrew man named Boaz. Nice sentimental story, but…come on!! Who cares? We’ve got political tectonic plates moving around. Why tell us about this seemingly insignificant story? And yet, Ruth’s intense loyalty to Naomi and her newfound dedication to YHWH results in the birth of Israel’s first great king, David!

5) And how does the story of Samuel begin? It doesn’t start in the courtyard of rulers- the powerbrokers of that day hashing out plans and strategies. It starts with some poor woman named Hannah who is infertile and has to live with a witch of a second wife. So she prays to God for a child who she will then return to Him for a lifetime of service…and boom, she gets pregnant. Somewhere along the storyline of judges and prophets and battles, God decides to show us a sliver of beauty as Hannah knits a little robe for her son who now lives with Eli the high priest (1 Sam. 2:19). And yet, Samuel will grow up to be a king-maker!!

6) God picks a mere boy to replace the tall and handsome Saul to be His new king because God looks at character, not talent or charisma (1 Samuel 16:7)!

7) God describes His “servant” as nothing special physically. In fact, this servant has no stately majesty or good looks to draw others to follow Him. In fact, His grisly death leaves everyone assuming that He was accursed by God and not God’s greatest demonstration of mercy (Isa. 52:13-53:12).

8) True to form, the Messiah comes from the home of a blue collar worker- a carpenter named Joseph and a woman named Mary, who many probably accused of infidelity prior to her formal marriage (the Spirit of God made her pregnant? Yeah right!)

9) The symbol of this new amazing work of God, this culmination of the stories in the Hebrew Bible that point to God’s overhaul of the created order, the pinnacle of redemption…is a cross. Today, we might use an electric chair, because the cross was a symbol of capital punishment reserved for the worst criminals. Even the Apostle Paul admits that, at least on the surface, this is pure idiocy- “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor, 1:18)

The power of God…hmmm. How weird are these ideas of power? Everything about power in God’s economy runs completely counter to everything we know or are taught. What’s my point? My point is simply this- part of walking in faith is living a life that seems to be so vulnerable, so dangerous that we have an almost allergic reaction to them.

• “Forgive your enemies and love them? I don’t think so!!”
• “Submit yourselves to every authority? Have you seen what they will do with their authority?”
• “It is better to suffer for doing right and thus give your own defense of the work of Christ than to defend yourself? Easy for you to say!!”

But, here is exactly where the life of faith in Christ works, because it is not typically through the strong that God exhibits His strength. Indeed, the strong may often obscure the power of God and we may be easily tempted to attribute the success to human talent, charisma and/or influence. Why else would God choose to come as such an insignificant figure as Jesus, a carpenter from the no man’s land of Nazareth (even one of His disciples had a problem with his origin of birth, see John 1:46) to embody all His glory? Why would God choose a bunch of uneducated fishermen (and if we think about how long the Apostle John lived, we would have to conclude that they were probably in their late teens or early twenties when Jesus chose them!) to be the vehicles for His world-changing agenda? Why would Paul, a self-admittedly unimpressive man say- “…power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Cor. 12:9).

I love this because I see what I could not have ordinarily seen when looking at my own life. And what I see is the activity and the movement of God!! We all say how we wish we could see God, but He can be seen if you know where to look. And where to look, in many instances, is at the places of weakness and vulnerability where it could only have been God. I know my story well. I was never popular, sometimes I got good grades, but most of the time I was rather unmotivated. I was one of the smallest kids in my class until I got to my junior year in high school, and even then I would never be confused with a giant. I walk with an obvious limp due to a bone disease I contracted as an infant (so sports were out the window after 5th grade). My boxing career (I never tried MMA) was a very average one. As an amateur, I had 2 wins, 2 losses and 4 knockouts (you do the math). I have a high, raspy, unpleasant voice that routinely causes phone callers to ask me if they can speak to the “man of the house”. In short, I have all the traits of a “nobody”. I don’t say this to be falsely humble or self-deprecating. I actually like who I am. This is simply a realistic assessment. Like Paul, I too am not a particularly impressive person (few are, of course). The only explanation that I can give for the position I have now, in which I preach every Sunday to approximately 1100 people, is God delights in showing off His strength in the midst of weakness. It fits the pattern of redemptive history to a tee. So, embrace your inner-nobody!! Embrace the walk of a Christ-follower…and watch for God’s movements in your life!