Throughout history there have been many individuals who really looked terribly unhuggable. Vlad the Impaler, Hitler and Karl Marx to name a few. All of which had ambition to change the world in which they inhabited, for better in their minds and worse for the reality of millions of others. All their ambition led to the deaths of millions. 80,000 people due to Vlad, 6,000,000 Jews because of Hitler and an estimate of over 94,000,000 related to Marx’s Communist legacy. All these atrocious statistics to highlight that people have taken us to dark places with a goal behind their actions. A goal that would bring change to a society that in their eyes was flawed and not up to the standard of which they would have it. This goal ultimately to create change would be fueled by power. The fuel may have been clean and good like wind power to begin with but would end up looking like Chernobyl equivalent nuclear power that is not maintained. These goals were under the guise and false notion that they would be for the good of others when deep down they were not. The idea of self came before others and it fueled their power.
Karl Marx believed deep down that society itself was in a dark place due to the perceived oppression of religion on people. The type of religion that is expectant of perfection from its believers and showing more hypocrisy than stars in the sky. Not the type of religion to get behind but one that is often unfortunately associated with Christian religiosity. His famous quote deeming religion “the opium of the people” regarded to the use of religion by those in power to oppress the workers and was also used to make them feel better about not being able to afford actual opium. Marx’s idea if it were to blossom would be to free the workers of religion/oppression which was their comfort and that they would do something to better their lives. A Communist revolution would better the lives of workers as it would give all equality and would subtract religion from the equation of society. Almost sounds like a cheery Disney movie. Marx like Van Gogh faded from this world before he could benefit from his ideas. Sometime later comes Stalin and friends who did the best they could to find other ways of oppressing people that did not involve religion. Setting the tone for Communism. The ideology to provide a platform for change and agendas that suit self and cults of personality.
Marx had a hope to set people free and give them the gift of equality but eventually hurled them into the arms of mini-gods. Those who saw themselves as the highest entity, those who did not fear God but feared their end and anyone who would challenge them. In the end all the workers would be treated equally under these types, equally bad. What Marx missed in his diligent pursuit against religion is that it is not a security blanket that we mollycoddle. It is not an object that we blindly pray to, we believe due to faith in a living hope and reason. Marx in his time and place observed that the workers/people were manipulated by the government in such a way that it robbed them of independent thought to be able to find security in life elsewhere. The government of Marx’s time sounded like a self-serving body full of the godless and self-righteous. Religion is not used for manipulation, once it reaches that purpose then it is no longer religion it is an empty ideology.
My belief in Jesus should lead me to want betterment for those around me through my actions. No part of me through this belief should drive me to lord over anyone. Manipulation of my belief would lead me to use other people for the betterment of myself and to raise myself onto a platform. Philippians 2:3 requires of us to “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
This verse kills any ambition for self above others and naturally creates equality as you will never see yourself higher than another. Nor should you see yourself above others, this is a bad place to be. A place where everyone owes you something for the greatness you give the world. A place where you should always be put first, where your own opinion is the most important and self-interest leads you by the leash you hold. It is an alienated place amongst society and Proverbs 18:1 shows the fruit of this place, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” It is a lonely hellscape where you only hear what you want to hear. Yet this seems to be how these mass murders take place from the statistics mentioned earlier. The love of self will only lead to death. I pray for myself that every part of me would turn away from the mini-god state of being and that I would seek the change that the gospel message brings. Not all selfish choices I make are going to lead to mass murder, however I need to make choices that are life giving. A good place to start in acting this out comes from Matthew 7:12 "So in everything, do unto others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." This rescues people from the oppression of manipulation and creates a change that promotes equality. It creates people who strive to become something other than a self-serving mini-god.
Aim for this and create this change.
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