Everywhere you look, it seems like the world has gone mad. Civil uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and even Wisconsin. Many are praying that these events will have a positive impact, that maybe they will move the world one step closer to peace. Even as we watch the transfer of power, we are forced to mourn the loss of lives. When "dictators" are thrown down, we joyfully cheer their downfall, all the while praying their replacement will be someone of a more noble character.As Americans we rejoice anytime it seems our ideals, freedom and democracy, are moving forward. We look at the list of injustices perpetrated by regimes that are being toppled and we smugly think they are getting what they deserve. However, the heart of most political change isn't the indignity of injustice. It seems to me, the heart of most revolutions is the yearning for autonomy.
Human beings yearn to master their own destiny. It's been this way every since Adam took the forbidden fruit from Eve. Although we are not given insight into the thinking of man at the moment of rebellion, it's not hard to imagine Adam wanting to shake off God's rule. After all, who was God to tell Adam that he could have the forbidden fruit. Adam wanted to be god, deciding for himself what was good and what is evil.
Things haven't changed. We descendants of Adam still desire to make the call. We often reject God's definitions of right and wrong. Authority is a necessary part of human society. It is built into the warp and woof of human life. However, most people hate authority. For that very reason, reverse psychology works (until people figure out what you are doing).
I'm not saying that there aren't corrupt authorities, or that every one who is in authority should be in authority. I'm saying there is a rebellious yearning for autonomy (self-government) that sees all authority with suspicion. Like children we run around shouting, "You're not the boss of me!" We break the rules we don't like, and bend most of the ones that don't personally offend us.
But Jesus didn't come to loose the autonomous self. He came to rescue us from our enslavement to rebellion. We, like Adam, had rejected God's rule over us. We had set ourselves up as the arbiters of truth, and when things didn't go the way we thought they should, we just pointed the finger at God and said, "That's unfair!" In his mercy, God stepped in and taught us how to identify right and wrong. He gave us his Word to teach us, sent his Son to purchase us, and sent his Spirit to guide us.
We are still rebels at heart. But we don't rebel against the will of God. We rebel against our sin, and the enslavement to self-worship. We acknowledge that a sinister administration once governed our hearts and lives, but Christ came and rescued us. He fought to the death to purchase our freedom--the freedom to submit to God.
Photo by: Klaus with a K, see attribution here.
