- And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. -
Let’s talk about power.
It’s a strange word. It can have various meanings like physical strength, the effect of one’s speech, and even the ability to perform an action, either through bureaucracy or skill.
If given the choice, we would take more power over less. There’s nuances there for sure, but it’s usually right to have more capabilities than not.
Now, what does that have to do with our verse?
Why would anyone fight another person? Because the reward of winning is worth the cost of losing.
That’s a personal question; it’s not rational. The line for when your honor is besmirched is different for every person.
But, it could also be for personal gain. If the man walking down the street appears to have a wallet for two, why can’t he be liberated from his cumbersome burden?
What is my point? The man who is attacked in our verse is beset upon because he has something of value or his defeat is valuable to his assailants.
“Hunter, what about those who are weak? They don’t have money or power. Why are they being victimized?”
The man who beats his wife or dog doesn’t do so because he is better than them.
He does so because he knows he is worth less than them, and, having violence as his only method to correct this “injustice,” exercises it as the weak and pitiful being that he is.
Violence is for taking, and every angry soul knows it.
So, what must the powerful and the weak do, knowing there are violent people about wishing to take them down?
They must lean on society. A man with friends cannot be attacked or easily overcome. The battered woman has the police to call in a domestic abuse.
The lone attacker loses courage in the face of too many onlookers.
Our verse means this – there is strength in numbers. Not only is this true in our physical lives, but it is true in our spiritual lives as well.
As Christians, we should always be growing our bonds with one another and those outside the church so we can be a bulwark against suffering in each other’s lives.
But, there is an element to the verse we have raised that hasn’t been dealt with. Is it wrong to take from those who are powerful?
The idea here comes from our conceptions of power. It has both positive and negative connotations.
Power can be used to hide corruption. It’s why we distrust people in authority. What are they hiding in all that smoke, mirrors, and foreign bank accounts.
But power has a positive element to it as well. It rings truer, like competence.
The word used in the Bible for gentle gets close to it. It means, “the necessary force to bring about.”
Those that have this capability, use it to benefit others, and do so at large scale are indeed powerful.
Should we discourage that kind of power? Only a fool would.
Should we encourage that power to stay on the straight narrow, to set Christ as its north star, and work for the moral benefit of its own soul and that of others?
Only a fool wouldn’t.
Housekeeping: I’ll be on vacation for the long weekend. Next post will be on Thursday May 5th.
Thanks again to everyone for reading =)
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