Am I in the Place of God?

“Heh-heh”, I chuckle cynically, “THAT’ll fix ’em!” when one of Those Awful People get their (deserved?) come-uppance. I sadly realize that this is about all the laughing I do. As an old curmudgeon, I’m full of intolerance and vindictiveness. Present world news and emerging cultural trends blend with never-released old grudges and childhood disappointments to become a demon which has banished my enjoyment. Over-serious and righteously indignant, I stand up with Don Quixote against daily windmills: who do I think I am?

The Lessons for the upcoming weekend are intended especially for me, but you can listen along if you’d like…. Genesis 50 finds the brothers of Joseph begging him for grain; he’s the Prime Minister of Egypt, and they’re in the midst of famine. The problem is that they sold him into slavery, a long time ago: will they find family reconciliation? or will they be hacked into pieces on the spot?? “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” (v.15) Joseph coulda, but he didn’t. Declining retribution, he asked, “Am I in the place of God?”

The last part of Paul’s Letter to the Romans contains “rules” of behavior peculiar to Christian ethics. In Chapter 14 he writes, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?” (v.10) It seems that God’s People were squabbling about silly stuff–whether to eat meat, and when to eat it; or if the Sabbath were better than any other day. Calling these things “opinions” (and not theology) he asks, “Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another?” (v.4)

You probably know Jesus’ parable of the Two Indebted Servants (Matthew 18:21ff). One owed the king an astronomical amount, like unto the National Debt! When the king called him on the carpet, our man dissolved in tears, said he couldn’t pay it, and begged for mercy. Out of pity, the king forgave him the whole thing! BUT on the way out, this same guy met one who owed him some lunch-money. Forgetting how fortunate he was, he put the hammer on the second slave, and threw him into debtors’ prison! When the king learned about this, he rescinded his mercy and sent the errant slave likewise to debtors’ prison! “Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” (v.33)

So do we act as if we were in the place of God? Thanks to the Southern Poverty Law Center, I took an online test to see if I had hidden biases. (tolerance.org/hiddenbias) I’m not really surprised to find how intolerant I am. I’ve always claimed to be a Liberal/Progressive; but now I find that I’m a bigot inside, despite my outer profession of Peace on Earth, Good Will to All… Maybe I can yet re-learn the joy of Laughing WITH, instead of Laughing AT! After all, am I in the place of God?