Monday, January 9, 2012

Year 2, Day 9: 2 Kings 11

Our Own Psychosis

I’m going to jump head first into this one.  I find it absolutely unfathomable that the woman who goes around killing all the heirs to the throne (her very own nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great nephews) is the one who screams “Treason” who Joash is crowned king.  If anyone had a reason to scream treason, it was Joash who had to be put into hiding for all those years!

This then winds me down a deep psychological path.  Isn’t interesting how our minds can completely and totally twist reality to make sense to ourselves?  By this, I mean that our brains are so easily duped by our own understanding of reality.  Our own perception of reality is not always the most reliable.

I’ve spoken of this analogy before, but it is a valuable one to remember.  Any good detective knows that if you speak to 5 witnesses to a crime you will get versions of the same story.  You will get the 5 versions from each witness and somewhere in the twisted amalgamation of the stories you will also get the truth.  In other words, none of us are ever truly a “completely good” witness.  Our memory is errant.  Our ability to perceive is influenced heavily by that which interests us to begin with.  The human brain is great at taking what we think we see and “filling in the gaps” so that what we think we see makes sense.  {Google a TV series called “Brain Games” and watch it if you really want to see this principle in action.}

No doubt that Athaliah genuinely thought that this coronation of Joash was some sort of political coup.  No doubt that her mind had “filled in the gaps” in such a way as to think she hadn’t done anything wrong and was the victim here.  After all, she was the Queen Mother.  Her mind no doubt believed that she had ultimate authority and the ability to wield it as she saw fit.  Why shouldn’t she be able to eliminate contenders to the throne?

Yet, from the outside we see that what she did was completely wrong.  Murder is wrong on many levels.  Murdering one’s family is wrong on even more levels.  But it takes an outside perspective to see it.

The Balance Relationships Bring

This makes me really value the Christian relationships that I have.  I don’t plan on ever murdering someone, but that doesn’t mean I won’t sin in other ways.  If I rely upon my own understanding I will go headlong into more than my fair share of sin and be able to justify it in my own mind.  That’s just human nature.  I need my cadre of Christian support around me to make sure that I stay balanced in the faith.  We all do.

In fact, this reminds me of a famous quote from Machiavelli.  “All power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  If I give myself absolute power over what makes sense in my life, my perception will become corrupted.  But if I delegate power regarding what makes sense in my life to the people around me that I trust, I have a much more likely chance of being able to stay focused on what I should.  Again, this is the value of the cadre of spiritual folk around me.

Strong Leaders in the Face of Evil

I also give a fair amount of credit to Jehoida, the priest (and for the record, Jehosheba, Joash’s mother).  He was setting up a coup.  He was going against the Queen Mother – the ruling party at the time.  He was really risking life.  But it was for truth and righteousness.  It was for justice.  It was for God.  Some things are worth risking life.  And when a person or a group of persons put their life on the line for God, it is good to recognize it and give the glory to God.

Joash or Jehoash?

As a conclusion, let me give a note about the name given in the last verse of this chapter: Jehoash.  This is not meant to confuse, but it can – especially since earlier in the chapter we hear the name Joash.  These may be alternate spellings of the same name.  They may be a shortened version of the name as well.  Think of it as the difference between Sue and Susan or Rick and Richard.  Sometimes we use a formal name, other times we use an informal name.  Either way, don’t let yourself be confused by this.


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2 comments:

  1. But haven't you told me before that we can't all hold other Christians accountable? However, if you pick and choose who holds you accountable, then whose to say you wouldn't pick people that don't challenge you like you need to be challenged?

    I see this as if we have 5 witnesses, we all get a different perspective. Wouldn't that be true with how Christians as a community approach a certain topic? After years and years at church, I'm always amazed when a familiar story is presented in a whole new fashion and totally challenges what my focus should be and gives me something new to think about. So if we only look at our "own perception of reality" - then would we also tend to group ourselves with like thinkers as well?

    BTW -- I LOVE Brain Games. GREAT show!

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  2. Absolutely. What you say has a great amount of truth in it. The sad reality is that as a pastor, I have no hope of holding my congregation accountable. I simply don't have hours enough in the day to foster the depth of a relationship needed for that kind of accountability. That's why the small group model is so important.

    I can hold a dozen (or maybe two dozen) folks accountable. I can manage to keep a deep relationship with a few dozen folks. And if each of those few dozen had a dozen or so of their own ... then right there we've got the church covered!

    Now, as to the idea you rightly bring up and say "if i get to pick who holds me accountable, then whose to say I didn't stack a favorable deck?"

    The answer to that is an answer that cannot be mandated. That is an issue of faith. If I truly want to grow in Christ, am I going to pick a mentor who won't challenge me? No. Can I pick a mentor who won't challenge me? Absolutely. But if I do, that says more about me and my true approach to faith than it does in the ability of God to use a mentor in my life.

    There are some things that we cannot mandate. No set of rules is going to match up a Christina with a good mentor - because one person's good mentor is another person's personality conflict! No, we must teach people what discipleship looks like when it is done well and then trust that God can help them discern where and how to find it.

    Does this help any? I'm sorry if it isn't a satisfying answer, because it really is one of those issues where I think we have to let go of control and trust that God will put the right people in our lives when we need them. And its really hard to let go of that kind of control.

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