All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. – Ecclesiastes 8:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 17, 2013): Ecclesiastes 8

Caligula has become almost a caricature of the insane tyrant of a ruler. He demanded that he be worshiped as a God – sometimes even appearing in public dressed as various gods or demigods from the Roman pantheon such as Hercules, Mercury, Venus and Apollo. He became known for his intense cruelty and his sexual perversion. But it had not always been that way. In 37 C.E., Caligula became sick. And the generous and benevolent dictator that took to his bed in illness never returned. The Caligula that rose after the illness was a deranged version of the one that had started to reign in Rome – and the rest of his reign would be of a totally different character than the one that he had started.

The teacher begins to speak about the obligations of those that rule. And the original writings are a little unclear in this area. This passage could be interpreted as “the ruler who lords his power over others do so to his own (the ruler’s) hurt – or even his own (the ruler’s) destruction.” But the alternate reading, and according to some experts the preferred reading, is that “the ruler who lords his power over others do so to their (the people’s) hurt – or even to their (the people’s) destruction.” But the reality is that it really does not matter which interpretation we follow. Neither outcome is good.

Caligula’s reign ended in a very different way from the way that it started. Many were executed or stripped of their possessions. He expanded the power of the emperor of Rome at the expense of his people – especially at the expense of the senate and the people of power. But there were no people groups that succeeded under the last part of Caligula’s reign. Pain became a natural part of life to a level that was much higher than the normal amount of pain that we all suffer through as we live. And after only four years of his second reign, the portion of his reign that followed his illness, those who were closest to him plotted against him – and planned his assassination. Caligula’s reign had not been good for either the people who he lorded his power over, or for his own personal well-being and destiny.

In the church, I still see people that seem to want and need to lord their power over others. They want to be the ones in control, but we were never designed for that kind of a reality. And when we follow through with that nature, we hurt both the church and ourselves. As much as the experts may want to argue over whether the object of this passage is the ruler or the people, maybe the truth is that the passage seems unclear because it is both. We are designed to simply work together, with no one needing to be the one in control. The only one that we can allow to have that kind of control inside the church is God. There is no one else that can handle that kind of power.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 9