Becoming Less Toxic

Chapter 18 What is the End Game?

There are two ways to lead a conversation. One is to elevate myself by listing my credentials. The other less popular method is to raise my listener up through dignified discourse. Most of us have been taught by our cultural upbringing to lead with the first style. The second method is only employed by the most skilled of conversationalists. There are many ways to appeal to one's credentials. College or university education is high on the list. Background and experience often contribute to the list of reasons why you should listen to what another person has to say. Perhaps a job title or appointment from a source of respected authority has secured your right to be right.

There seems to be something in the human brain that automatically surrenders to an appeal to authority. It has held society in place throughout history. Without authority there would be anarchy. Just like law, authority is necessary, but also like law is there a flaw? In a world governed by self-interest there is no question that we need laws and the authority to uphold those laws. However, is there an end game?

Please, consider a biblical reference with me. One Jewish convert to Christianity believed that both law and authority had an expiration date. He indicated this in the letters he wrote to his fellow believers. Many have read his words, but I wonder how many have had a conversation about what he said. The first example is in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 where he indicates that one day the son of God will relinquish all his authority to his father. However, before he does, he puts down "all rule and all authority and power." Notice it doesn't say all other authority. It says all authority. Surely this means everyone but his father's authority. Perhaps, but notice how these verses end. As you continue reading, his reign ends with the last enemy death. Based on these verses it seems that sin is the reason for authority just as it is responsible for death. Apparently in the absence of a selfish internal nature both authority and death are no longer necessary. The twenty-eighth verse then states something very odd. Everything and everyone is subdued by the son. Then he subjects it all to his father. You would think the next words would state that God then rules supreme over all. Perhaps that is what you thought it said. Here is what it actually says: "That God may be all in all". Another translation says "all things to everyone". So, the end game is not rulership, but relationship.

I know this may be a lot to process, and you may strongly disagree with this assessment. Let's consider another example of this concept by the same author who wrote to the Corinthians. This time he was speaking to a group called the Galatians. He starts chapter five of his letter by showing that Christ had freed us from slavery to sin. By the time we read down to verse twenty-two he is showing how the spirit of God manifests various qualities in us. Now, here is my point. At the end of verse twenty-three this list of spiritual virtues ends with the expression: "Against such there is no law." Another way to say this is when you act in these nine loving ways there is no need for law.

Imagine you found a tour guide while away on vacation. This guide shows you all around the place you are visiting, because you are unfamiliar with the region. That is great. However, at the end of your vacation would this tour guide go home with you, and continue to show you around for the rest of your life? Of course not. Once they have fulfilled their purpose, their service would no longer be necessary. There was no long list of ten commandments in the beginning. There was no need. Only one written law was made. The other law of procreation, was a natural law which was also given to all living things. However, the law stated regarding a certain tree was a warning designed to test character.

I realize some who read this may believe none of this actually happened, but for the sake of the narrative, please indulge me. It is not human nature to give few laws, or diminish in the number of laws, as demonstrated by the code of Hammurabi in ancient Babylon. Today laws are ever expanding. The idea of laws or authority ending sounds ludicrous. That is my point. Both at the beginning and end of the biblical narrative there is only one law. The expansion of the laws happens in the middle. Now, is the first law different from the last law? To answer this let's consider the last law first. Christians call it the law of love. At first Jesus of Nazareth took the six hundred plus laws of Moses, and condensed them down to two laws: (1) Love God. (2) Love Neighbor. However, in the letters it is referred to in the singular, as the law of love. So, what is the point of this law? Put simply, care more about others than myself. In other words, fight the tendency towards self-interest.

Now, let's return to the first law. 'You can eat from every tree, but one.' What has this law got to do with the last law? If you love someone and appreciate the variety of food provided at a banquet, would you focus on what is missing? If so, that wouldn't be very gracious, would it? How we handle this situation reveals out true character. The law of love is what we needed in order to get our focus off of ourselves.

If I'm only concerned about the environment because of the negative consequences it has on my life then I really still don't see the real problem. I must recognize the affect it has on others as well. Life on this planet is a remarkable gift, whether you refer to the giver as God or the universe. Either way, appreciation for this blue marble we call earth should move us all to want to find ways of becoming less toxic. Maybe one day someone will come along and rescue us from ourselves, but does that mean we should trash the place in the mean time?

If that is our attitude, I have to wonder if we are really worth saving. Becoming less toxic is only the first step. Experts now believe we may be approaching a point of no return. Once we pass that point, we may need some outside help, or one particular scripture may have an ominous overtone. "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive." There is one thing we can all agree on. Time is running out. Could that be the problem? Is time an enemy? As you turn the page consider how time may actually be influencing the conversation for better or worse till death do us part.