People, at times, will panic when faced with a situation where they don’t know what to do. That panic can lead to anger. That anger can have a large impact on those around them.
When that person is a person in a position of power the impact is far reaching. Yet we are all in positions of power. We might be world leaders, employers, supervisors, spouses, or parents. All of us have influence over others.
Our issue is fear.
Reinhold Niebuhr in The Nature and Destiny of Man, (Nisbet 1944, pp.201-203) explores this reality. The reality that our anxiousness drives us. The more inherently anxious or fearful we are, the higher we climb the human ladder of control.
He notes that some in political power have the deepest sense of insecurity. And therefore the impact of their reactions can be especially strong.
Yet the strength of a person’s reaction to fear is even more amplified in folks who believe less in God and more in themselves.
It’s logical. If you think all your success is a result of your brilliance, and if your success is wildly important to you, then you will lash out if your success is threatened.
We see this behavior throughout history. We see this behavior in the workplace.
One famous scoundrel is Herod. At the news of Jesus’ birth he had all the little boys of Bethlehem murdered. (Matthew chapter two)
Another famous scoundrel is Nebuchadnezzar. In this first part of Daniel, chapter two, we note he is greatly troubled. His dream has upset him.
The text reads, “dreams”, plural. I picture he has had this dream multiple times (has that ever happen to you?). Night after night he gets pieces of his dream. He wakes, troubled, trying to piece it together, but he cannot make sense of it.
He tries buying an answer by promising his advisors great wealth. Then in frustration, he lashes out in anger. He is at his wits-end, panicking.
Why is he panicking? Because Nebuchadnezzar believes more in himself than in his gods.
His gods are to be appeased and manipulated for his gain. So, he turns to those who can speak to/for his gods. Yet he is a smart fella. He knows they will tell him what he wants to hear, so he constructs his request.
They must not only tell him the meaning of his dream, but they must also tell him his dream!
They cannot fulfill his request. In verse 11 they correctly state, “The thing the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
Nebuchadnezzar is furious. He orders all of them torn limb from limb and their households destroyed.
When you think all that takes place is because of your own power, sooner or later you come to the end of yourself. Nebuchadnezzar is not there yet, but this is the beginning.
Yet I don’t think I need to look at political figures, past or present. Instead I simply need to look at myself.
Where am I frustrated or angry? Where am I striving in my own power, only in the end, to sigh when I fall short, or worse, lash out?
And if I can identify, name, those situations or people, have I come to God in prayer?
What situations or people can you identify?