Spiderman
In the early 2000's I remember seeing the movie "Spiderman". At the time, the superhero movie genre had not really hit it's stride (aka the MCU). Yet Spiderman came out and it was quite the hit. I admit, I have a soft spot for Spiderman; who is probably my favorite Marvel character. To say the least, I was excited to see it!
Of course, like most superhero movies (except Batman V. Superman), it was an origin story. It gave us the story as to why, Spiderman became Spiderman. One of the most important parts of the story dealt with something his Uncle Ben (may he rest in fictional peace) said. He expressed to Peter (spoiler for those who don't know Spiderman's identity 😉) this thought: "with great power comes great responsibility".
Power and Responsibility
I heard this verse thrown around in all my pastoral classes as much as guys threw frisbees on campus. The reason professors wanted this to sink in, is this idea, that with the power of teaching others about scripture, comes a great responsibility. Not only is it important, but you will be judged stricter than others. To be honest, that scared the hell out of me. I would say it's probably a reason why I'm not working in a church.
The fact of the matter is it's kind of true. With great power, comes great responsibility. Why do you think we spend so much time ragging on our politicians? They have the power to do things that I can only imagine. They are voted in and are suppose to use there affluence and influence to help the country, state, township, etc. Obviously that doesn't always work out but the idea remains the same.
The same went for the Kings of Israel. They were suppose to lead the people to walk with God. The kings either "did evil" or "did right" in the eyes of God. To be honest, it seemed like a lot of them did evil, which is similar to now. The purpose of the king really was to help the people turn to God but eventually kings would lead them to destruction.
Power can corrupt. It happens in school, work, and church. We sometimes forget the responsibility that we were given. This will happen because we are imperfect. We will make mistakes. We will forget our responsibility. It's important to have others around who can remind you. Think of Nathan to David. David sinned by sleeping with another man's wife and then having him killed. Nathan called him out and reminded David of his responsibility,
"Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own." (2 Samuel 12:7-10 NIV)
God did forgive David but this gives a good idea of David's responsibility. Kind of helps us understand our need for Christ. We needed a savior to lead us and help us defeat our desire for power.
My Responsibility
I've had to evaluate why this thought had come to my mind recently. Truthfully it mostly because of leadership in our country, my job, in my church, etc. This is truly a struggle for me, because like earlier, there is a lot of pressure to perform when given influence or affluence. Like I mentioned earlier with my pastoral classes, it scares me that I would have that kind of influence.
Yet regardless, I have that everyday. Regardless of what I do, I still have influence. I am a representative of Christ to others each day. I represent Christ to not only to those who aren't "Christians" but also those who are "Christians". My actions are suppose to share the love of Christ. My attitude is to be one that Christ too had.
I have been given the Holy Spirit. This is the same spirit that Jesus said he would give his apostles. Due to this, I have power. That in my human weakness, God has given me strength. It goes back to the idea, that I must keep my eyes on Christ. When I focus my eyes, this power is more of a gift that I am thankful for rather than a means to get what I want. I must focus my eyes on the almighty in thankfulness.
This isn't to say that I or others won't make mistakes. Sometimes I will abuse the power. I will use it for gain. To which, I hope God through his spirit, convicts my heart. I hope that others will call me out. I must remember, with great power comes great responsibility. I may not have spider powers but I do have a greater power. This power is for others to feel true love. I must focus my eyes on Christ in order to be wise with my influence.
