Governing the world

There’s a lot of talk about governing the world. And what it takes to govern. And who should be doing it. So let’s go back to the beginning and explore a primer on sovereignty, the Bible. In particular the Books of Samuel where as the great Hebrew Bible translator, Robert Alter, says,

“…the anonymous Hebrew writer [of the Samuel books], drawing on what he knew or thought he knew of the portentous historical events, has created this most searching story of men and women in the rapid and dangerous current of history that still speaks to us, three thousand years later.” p. 176 The Hebrew Bible, Vol. 2

“All together now”

Recognize the fella in the photo above? I didn’t but lots of people do. It is an extraordinary animal, the Tardigrade, because of its ability to survive in extreme environments. Most no bigger than one millimeter long, living in our waters in almost every habitat on earth.

But why lead with a photo of a Tardigrade if talking about governing the world? Because we are silly, and need reminding of what really the world is.

We are silly to think that imaginary lines, the borders between countries, these human-made squiggles, are the world. And that because we thought them up we can redraw, undraw them and call that “governing the world.” Silly.

The world is everything in it. Somehow working together, starting with the very, very small. From the Tardigrade to the volcano. From the earth to the stars we see in the sky. And beyond.

We moderns look ever deeper with our microscopes and telescopes seeing whole new worlds, and so all the more humbled by the wondrous workings of the universe. Or at least we should be humbled.

But let’s get back to our little blue planet.

Where do we start?

The story in the First and Second Books of Samuel takes a fabulous romp through the ups and downs of governing. There’s the weak priest Eli with corrupt sons, gods fighting in the secrecy of darkness, Samuel the king maker, and of course David. Flawed and larger than life, slaying the giant Goliath, the cat and mouse chase with King Saul, the deep love of Saul’s son Jonathan, a dancing David and pissed off wife Micah. Donkeys, oxen, a cow. And then Bathsheba, lots of battles, strategies, avenges and alliances. Ending with King David’s reckoning with God. All that and more in less than 60 pages.

And it all begins with a woman. A woman and a loving husband unable to have a child together. The woman is Hannah. Her husband’s name is Elkanah.

No amount of force, strength or power will bring them a child. We cannot say, “I want a child” and know a child will be given to us. Hannah knew this just as we do.

The Bible as a primer on governing

To govern, according to Merriam-Webster, is “to exercise continuous sovereign authority over.” This we do not have over life. So Hannah prays. Her prayer is not about magical thinking. It is about knowing, because she is living it, that we do not govern life.

Following the birth of their son Samuel, Hannah again prays. In this prayer she is no longer asking but telling. She knows that the real world is upside down from what she is told is reality. She names that upside down-ness in her prayer, most succinctly said in verse 2:9 in 1 Samuel:

“…for not by might does one prevail.”

So, this story of Samuel’s begins at the beginning of ordinary lives where it is all too obvious that authority does not come by power over another. With that truth established, the books go on from there, “searching” as Alter says.

Searching not by means of a rule book, but instead, a storyteller with a carpetbag that spills from it the most marvelous characters in the most fabulous circumstances. All for the sake of looking for someone to govern wisely.

Talk on governing the world

Strength, force, power. Leaders often say these are needed to govern.Three thousand years ago as now. Here is Stephen Miller, a policy adviser to the United States President recently talking to Jake Tapper of CNN about governing.

“We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world that have existed since the beginning of time.”

Poppycock. We have the two books of Samuel in front of us to explore together what the real world is and what happens when leaders think they have authority over it. When they are not humble in the face of reality.

I would love to have Jake and Stephen and you and I sit down and read these books of the Bible together. But short of that, go and have a Samuel Night with your friends. Let the books of Samuel speak to you. I recommend serving Humble Pie to set the right mood.

Governing the real world

Before sitting down to consider the real forces that make this world thrive, which of course is the purpose of all governing, watch this short video of life in a drop of water. (Sorry, no Tardigrades but there is another tiny invertebrate who shows up – Rotofers.)

The Bible often sets up a teaching moment by placing the story in a real life setting. For this discussion of governing the world, what better place for us moderns than dropping into the world of water through a microscope. Immerse yourselves. This is where life on earth begins.

Reading further

For all you parents of young children out there, consider a recent picture book about Tardigrades, The Three Little Tardigrades. And for adults – I just started reading Christopher Brown’s new book, A Natural History of Empty Lots. So very pertinent to this discussion and so delightful to read.