Exercise Lordship

Mark 10:42-45

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 

Here in the United States of America, the people form the government.  We choose representatives and elect officials to whom we give authority to establish and enforce laws.  We also give them the authority to develop and manage entities and programs to promote national security and to help the poor and the needy.  Those elected or appointed to government positions who have the most responsibilities nationally have higher statures than others – like the President, who is the chief executive officer of the federal government.  It is easy for a President of the United States, or for a Senator or member of the House of Representatives with extra clout, to see himself or herself as a person of great importance and great authority.  But no one in the government, not even the Commander-In-Chief, has any kind of authority except what the people have chosen to give.  We the people have placed the President and the members of Congress in their positions and have given them the responsibility of working on our behalf.  They are our servants.  They are not our masters.  And when any of them act with a kind of self conceit, as though they have all the answers, as though they are entitled to act the way they do, as though whatever they do should be acceptable to us because they are the ones doing it – well, then it becomes clear that they just don’t get it.  The one who is given the most authority and responsibility is the one who is the servant – they serve at the pleasure of the people.

 

With much disappointment, I consider the actions and words of congressional members and of the president as they are working through a federal shutdown and trying to keep our government from defaulting on its loans.  It no longer seems to be about a difference in opinion or ideas, but rather a simple difference in political parties.  Victory for them, it seems, is for the other party to be blamed for any bad things that happen.  In other words, our public servants in the federal government seem perfectly willing to keep their paychecks and benefits, to keep their jobs, while discontinuing the paychecks or even ending the jobs of the people that they are supposed to serve – as long as it looks like it’s entirely the fault of the guys from the other party.  And I say – Really??? 

 

It’s as though their job is to engage in a competition to see who is the greatest among them.  They are too busy pointing fingers and puffing themselves up to actually do the work that needs to be done in the government.  We did not elect them and we do not send tax money to pay their salaries in order for them to vilify a political party while raising their personal clout within their own political party.  True Independents can work just as hard for the American people as a Republican or Democrat – and maybe even better because they won’t waste time trying to suck up to their party leaders while denigrating the other side’s leaders and supporters.  Both sides are guilty of this juvenile behavior, make no mistake about it, and I’m sick of it!  And I’m not the only one.  But I’m not going to resort to name-calling and pointless ranting.  I’m reminded, instead, of the limitations of government itself.

 

We, the people, have become too complacent with our Democratic Republic.  We have fallen into the trap of those who want to be counted as among the greatest by seeing high-ranking officials in government as people separate from us, almost in a class above us.  Yes, I know that we talk smack about them and do a lot of finger-pointing and denigrating ourselves, but we seem to do it because we have fallen into the error of thinking that we need to choose sides.  Do you agree with the Republicans or the Democrats?  And if one chooses the Democratic Party, then the Republican Party is seen as a joke, a disgrace, a terrible plague.  If one chooses the Republican Party, then the Democratic Party is seen as a joke, a disgrace, a terrible plague.  It’s like we think we’re spectators at a football game, choosing sides, sending out chants, holding up signs – but not actually in the game.  But, not only is it vital to remember that the working of the federal government is not a sport or a game, it is also vitally important to remember that we are not spectators.  We are the leaders of our society.

 

In everything that we say and in everything that we do, we are setting an example, forming a path upon which others will walk.  And as they walk, they will shape that path as well.  We, the people, are the government, are the elected officials within the government, are those who have been given leadership roles in the government.  They are human beings just like us.  We are human beings just like them.  Next election, when the choices on my ballot are people who care more about their stature or their party than about the job that needs to be done, then I am going to write in the name of a person I know who is honest and kind, who is reasonable and mature, a person with integrity.  Because, if you think about it, the people who run for public office are the people who really think that they should be there – so we only get to choose from people who are already full of themselves.  Now, yes, I know that there are exceptions.  There has been and are some very good public servants who truly have the interest of the people at heart and who don’t resort to juvenile, bipartisan games no matter what the cost to their own stature or clout among the rest of them.  We need more people like that.  And perhaps the best way to start changing the government is by changing ourselves. 

 

Let’s lead by our own examples.  Let’s not make discussions of what’s going wrong in our nation’s Capitol all about who can make the best joke or most cutting remark about this party or that.  There are only 535 members of Congress, plus 1 president and 1 vice president – and there are over 314,165,191 people in the United States.  If the majority of us in our country devoted ourselves to being honest, reasonable, mature and selfless, then that small percentage of us who we send to work in the government will have a much better chance of acting the same way.  If we only take care of our own – our own selves or our own family members or our own political parties – then we should not expect our representatives to act differently.  The president, the senators, and the representatives are a reflection of the people – after all, the people become presidents, senators and representatives.  And now it’s like they’re holding a mirror up to us – and it isn’t pretty, is it?

 

The only real and true greatness comes through humble and selfless service to others.  If we the people don’t know that and act accordingly, then the government we form will be likewise ignorant – and selfish.

Christina Chase