Have you ever found yourself pursuing a self-destructive course of action as if propelled by some invisible malignant force? Maybe it was an out of control shopping spree you could ill afford. Or perhaps you lost your temper with a child, threatening draconian penalties that you could never enforce. What of the business professional focused on his needless lawsuit who is more concerned with dominating his foe than in the welfare of his company and its people? What demented determination drives us to follow harmful paths?
You might well ask the same question to the governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany, to name just three of many European countries that have relentlessly increased the number of disaffected young Muslim men within their borders. Despite colossal increases in the rates of muggings and murders, rapes, robberies and riots, not to mention terrorism committed disproportionately by Moslem migrants, the respective governments strenuously cling to the policies that brought their countries to the very edge of calamity. What mad mood suffuses these governments to make them destroy their societies and ignore their citizens’ best interests?
As usual, ancient Jewish wisdom provides the answer, suggesting that the very best person to ask is Egypt’s late unlamented Pharaoh.
…so Pharaoh’s heart was strong and he did not listen to them… [Moses & Aaron] – (Exodus 7:22)
Pharaoh saw that there was pause and kept making his heart stubborn… – (Exodus 8:11)
The sorcerers said to Pharaoh “It [the plague of lice] is the finger of God” but Pharaoh’s heart was strong and he did not listen to them… – (Exodus 8:15)
And Pharaoh made his heart stubborn again and he did not send out the people. (Exodus 8:28)
…and Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn and he did not send out the people. – (Exodus 9:7)
Pharaoh saw that the hail…had ceased…and he made his heart stubborn…and he did not send out the Children of Israel… – (Exodus 9:34-35)
Eventually, Pharaoh lost the support of his people. As time went on, Egyptians separated themselves from Pharaoh’s insane obsession, persuaded that the plagues were God’s doing.
All among Pharaoh’s people who feared the word of God drove his servants and livestock indoors [on account of the forthcoming plague of hail] and those who did not take God’s word to heart left his servants and livestock in the field. – (Exodus 9:20-21)
Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this assault continue? Send out the Israelites that they may serve their God. Don’t you yet realize that Egypt is doomed?” – (Exodus 10:7)
However, even this did not stop Pharaoh. Alone in his delusion he insisted on keeping Israel enslaved through more plagues until the ultimate destruction of Egyptian civilization. But Pharaoh was not the first person to be so arrogantly obsessed with his own vision that he was blinded to reality and abandoned the most basic signal of life—an ability to adapt to changing circumstances. The first was Nimrod, (Genesis 10 & 11) who was determined to impose his vision of socialism to the very end. Like Pharaoh he was driven by a sick need to dominate, not lead.
Sure enough, in the early 20th century Soviet leaders followed Nimrod’s example trying to build a society based on central command. Despite making their citizens miserable and repeatedly destroying the economy, they still didn’t deflect even one degree from their destructive course of socialism. Just because he is imposing widespread misery and just because his plan is not working are no reasons for the arrogant leader, believing only in himself, to pause.
There is a monumental difference between Pharaoh and our protagonist in the Exodus story, Moses, whom we meet when God speaks to him from the Burning Bush. Pharaoh, as we have seen is a dominator caring little for the people under him. Moses is driven by deep empathy for Israel. Pharaoh follows his ego. Moses follows his God.
The difference is that of leading versus dominating. Pharaoh, Nimrod, the socialists of the French Revolution or of the evil Soviet experiment, up to today’s socialists busily remaking America, all dominate. Their lust for power to rule and regulate the lives of their slaves (citizens, nominally) is boundless. Their power derives from suppressing the independence of their subjects. They must dominate.
By contrast, Moses stood for leadership. Real leaders seek to elevate those they lead. They consider themselves successful when they build their people into independent beings. Real leaders adapt to changing circumstances and act in the best interests of those for whom they are responsible. Whether we examine a family, a business, or even a nation, it is so easy to distinguish leaders from dominators.
Dominators are arrogantly fixated on their interests and their vision of how things ought to work. Out of control shopping is ego driven with the unhealthy part of the personality dominating and exhibiting utter disregard for the other more responsible part of the person. Out of control parenting is similar. The parent is dominating rather than leading. Obviously the business professional careering towards legal calamity is more concerned with dominating his foe than in the welfare of his company and its people.
Socialists are nearly always dominators, not leaders. They want to control what sort of light bulbs or shower heads you can buy or what you may or may not do with land that has been in your family for generations. Dominators in Britain, Sweden, and Germany have a vision that includes admitting to their countries vast numbers of certain types of people. That their citizens (servants) are suffering is irrelevant.
Our 2 audio CD set Tower of Power: Decoding the Secrets of Babel goes beneath the surface of Genesis, exploring nine verses that lay out the conflict between obedience to God or to Government, from Abraham’s time until today.
If you’ve experienced any difficulty explaining socialism’s flaws, equip yourself with this resource, on sale right now. As always, learning God’s word directly is more powerful than dozens of political discussions.
