Perhaps all
branches of government need to take a field trip to a nursery school. The
excursion would not be to make a political speech or provide a photo
opportunity, but to learn some life lessons. Apparently, regardless of the
political party or branch of government, there is a need for a refresher course
on how to “play” with one another. One might argue that what they do is no game.
Certainly this is true due to national and international implications of their
decisions. Since the charge, “They act so childishly,” is being leveled both by
and about political leaders, perhaps it would be beneficial for them to observe
how childish nursery school children act.
Imagine they do take this field trip. They
first go to the “Building Blocks Learning Table.” At this table several
children are busily trying to gather as many blocks as their pudgy little hands
can grasp. No one is actually building anything, they are just focused upon the
blocks another child has and desperately want those blocks to be in their pile.
A patient nursery worker asks the children, “What do you want to build? Do you
really need more blocks?” The child’s motivation is not so much about accomplishment
as it is about acquisition. As the members of the field trip move to the next
learning station they hear the nursery worker say, “You need to share. We only
have so many blocks to go around.” The officials walk to the next table saying,
“How childish!”
The “Art Station” is next. There children
are working with finger paints. Their smocks of repurposed long sleeve dress
shirts are covered with splotches of color. The paper taped to the table is a
mass of colors beginning to bleed into one another. One child reaches over to a
neighbor’s “painting” and contributes a splotch of color from their hand
without any regard to what their neighbor is trying to paint. The intrusion is
met with resistance. Now four colorful hands are no longer interested in the
project on their papers. They begin protecting themselves and retaliating for the
encroachment on their masterpiece. Now the art project and paper is not the
focus; the focus is to plaster paint on the person that has angered them.
Calmly the nursery worker intervenes saying, “Children, you need to work on
your own project not your neighbors. Treat one another as you would want them
to treat you and your project.” The field trip participants walk away shaking
their heads saying, “How childish!”
The field trip now moves outside to the
playground. There children are playing “Duck, Duck, Goose.” The game’s rules have
been clearly explained and the children have even played this before. Today,
however, several children have decided to ignore the rules, or perhaps they don’t
like how the game is going and have made up a few new rules of their own. Chaos
ensues. Children are randomly running around, bumping into one another, getting
angry, becoming confused, and starting to become emotionally unglued. The
playground worker intervenes and sternly says, “We have to play by the rules or
no one will enjoy the game.” The worker continues, “Let’s review the rules of
the game again.” Again the governmental observers mumble, “How childish!”
Imagine back in Washington, DC, the
members of the field trip excursion meet to undergo an evaluation of their
experience. To their surprise the facilitator of the evaluation is the director
of the nursey school. She asks them what they observed. The politicians critically
catalogued the offenses of the children. After a pause the director of the
nursery school responded, “What you saw was children acting their age. Perhaps that
is the difference between the children you observed and you, our esteemed
leaders. They act their age; you don’t.” Often we all act that way.
Why does that happen? The Bible seems to
indicate it is not so much a factor of maturity as it is a reflection of our
nature. We read in James 4:1-2 (NKJ) “Where do wars and fights come from among
you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You
lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and
war.” James is talking to people who are living in a Christian community and
have been instructed by their ultimate leader, Jesus, to “be one” (John 17:11,
22). Yet they were quarreling and fighting (James 4:1). James offers a
prognosis for this aggression saying it is connected to self-absorption, “your
desires for pleasure are at war.” The word for “pleasure” used here comes from
a Greek word from which we get the English word “hedonism.” The idea is that
wars come from people living only to please themselves. This self-absorption
leads to self-assertion of wanting one’s own way and being frustrated when you
don’t achieve your desires. James thus presents a formula related to fighting: Feeling
(lust) + Frustration (do not have… cannot attain) = Fighting and wars. This
formula manifests itself in all sorts of human relationships including
families, governments, churches, workplaces, and a host of other human
dynamics.
James offers an antidote for these wars.
Look for solutions beyond yourself. Specifically he points to seeking God’s
direction through self-less praying (4:2-3). He adds that humility is a
necessary ingredient (4:6, 10) to neutralize war-like qualities. Living life
that is not focused upon us and our agendas certainly minimizes conflict.
Wisely James indicates a key component to combat conflict is yielding control
of one’s life. Be willing to submit, especially to God, while resisting
“devilish” impulses (4:7). If we are always attempting to control others, we
manifest a character that elevates us over others. Perhaps we all need to live
less childishly and more biblically.
Incidentally, my apologies to preschoolers
for possible comparisons made between them and governmental and political
leadership!
