Kingdoms

I believe it is much easier to have the pretense of knowing how to run a business, or society or kingdom for that matter, than actually doing so. Though oftentimes leaders appear collected, calm, and seem to virtually have all of their ducks in a row and all their eggs in the basket, if one were to have a sincere, one-on-one transparent interview with them the myth of their serenity would be dispelled. Since it is impossible for any one person to effectively govern an entire people, we establish and have established in the past, societies in which edicts, orders and ambassadors can stand in for the sovereign ruler, with all of his authority…”by order of the king!” Otherwise, one has to fabricate the reality that the king himself is ruling in every situation, which, in fact, he is not, but is having his desires mediated by another. One could, as king, have every case and dispute that needed settling brought before himself to be decided, but this would quickly lead to over-extenuation and such a system would not be sustainable. Ironically, a usurper could subtly rebel against such as system by claiming that he, himself, would be able to arbitrate between all of the cases and listen to the people’s problems if he were king, and he could go about this deceptive undermining right outside the king’s throne room, with all of the people he inconspicuously feels himself superior to. The reality is, if this vigilante were king, he would be equally consumed with the morass of problems currently being processed that he would not have time for the quagmire of other menial and trivial problems to which he so eagerly insists that he would be able to attend. It is easy to be overly presumptuous, especially concerning our own selves. This is the rule, but there are often exceptions to the rule. That is the thing about rules and exceptions: most of the time, we believe we are the exception, or at least should be, rather than the far more likely case that we are not. However, in the business of ruling kingdoms, there was a man, if indeed he may be called such, who could have ruled with perfect fecundity, and without pretense or an iron fist. Of course, one does not need an iron fist, if their hand bears a sharp iron sword. It is interesting, at least, to consider all of the different kingdoms Christ may have been shown during his temptation in the wilderness. It is possible that he was shown the great coliseum and palaces of Rome, in all of its marble splendor adorned with purple curtains and robes. Or perhaps he was taken to the pinnacle of the great pyramids of Egypt and reminded of how great a society Egypt was and, indeed, could be. Or perhaps he was shown the great emperors of the Far East, whom all of their subjects bowed themselves prostrate whenever they were paraded by in their chariots. Or perhaps the luxury and immaculate beauty of the Babylonian Hanging Gardens was put on display before him, to tempt him with ease, pleasure, vanity, and most of all, bypassing the cross, which, indeed, he had every right to do. This consideration makes it plausible that the resistance, self-control and restraint that he used during these temptations not only seem that much more pertinent, but also demonstrates that he is indeed worthy of ruling anyway.