A healthier society

I’d like to interrupt the chaos and cruelty that we’re experiencing here in the US for a moment. Don’t worry, it will all be there when we return. And it will have grown too.

Frankly, I’m already tired of the doom of gloom and hopelessness – as if there is nothing we can do to stop Leviathan.

Leviathan is a the mythological and theological embodiment of chaos. It’s the idea that Leviathan was there at the creation – when God created order out of chaos. Leviathan is often pictured as a sea serpent. In old mythology and theology the waters represent chaos – the home of Leviathan. The serpent of Genesis 3 has been seen as Leviathan by some commentators. Job 41 goes into great detail describing Leviathan. Psalm 104 mentions Leviathan as one that God created. Isaiah 27:1 calls Leviathan a tortuous serpent who will be killed at the end of time. When Jesus calms the storms on the water, you can see a connection with Jesus being Lord over the chaos. Revelation talks about the giant dragon that is defeated – another reference to Leviathan that some commentators have talked about.

The point is, Leviathan is the spirit of chaos. When this spirit is unleashed, it causes damage and destruction and death in figurative and literal ways. Leviathan is a great literary device to express the chaos that humanity experiences throughout its history. Leviathan is never satisfied and never sleeps. It rages like a storm devouring all that it can.

Leviathan as a spirit is really meant as a way to describe and make sense of events and actions. It’s a spirit in the same way that you encounter a spirit of the crowd at a sporting event or concert. It’s a spirit in the same way that violence can consume a person. It’s a spirit in the same mode as a drug which binds a person and causes them to do actions that are harmful to themselves and others.

It’s a spirit that seems to be running free right now in the United States.

I heard a pastor I follow on YouTube talk address the question of whether we were in the end times. I loved his answer. He said he didn’t know. He said Christians aren’t supposed to make the Second Coming happen faster or try to stop it, or anything like that. Stuff is going to happen – some really bad stuff. And you know what we are called to? To hold tight to Jesus. We can’t defeat Leviathan. We hold tight to the one who does.

That also doesn’t mean we sit around and do nothing though either. Holding tight to Jesus means following him, doing what he told us to do. It means all the stuff in Matthew 25 (feed people and give them water, clothe people, set people free, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned). It means that we love people (neighbors and enemies). It means we pray for people. It means we seek forgiveness and offer it. It means seeing the image of God in others. I means caring for creation. It means seeing what Jesus is up to in our context and inviting others to join in. It means reading Scripture and talking about it in responsible ways. It means gathering together. It means seeing and hearing those on the margins. It means having hope. It is love in action.

So let’s go with this for a short bit. I want to ask the question – what would a healthier society look like?

I think a healthier society will start to unfold when we stop prioritizing the pursuit of wealth and power over the well being of humanity and creation. I think a healthier society starts to unfold when we change the definition of success from having as much money as possible to being rich in relationships. I think a healthier society starts to unfold when we value physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. I think a healthier society starts to unfold when we start to see and hear people beyond just what is on the surface – when we see humans and animals as having value just because they exist, not in what they produce. I think a healthier society starts to unfold when we recognize in small ways that we need each other and that thriving will only happen when our addiction to being right is set aside. I think a healthier society starts to unfold when we spend more time listening rather than talking. I think a healthier society starts to unfold when stop waiting for someone else to take action, to have a vision, to take the first step.

You see, we may not be able to defeat the spirit of Leviathan. But we can start moving in the direction of a healthier society. And the more people who get on board, the more likely a healthier society starts to take shape.

What’s your vision for a healthier society?