"Ruthless People" (2 Kings 11:1-21)
-Reverend A. L. Torrence
Pastor of the Cross of Life Lutheran Church
Ruthless people, we all know some. We all know somebody that would go to any end to get what they want. We all know someone, who wouldn’t hesitate to lie, cheat, steal, and/or kill just to please their selfish desires.
We all know some ruthless people. They may not be as notorious as Huddan Hussein but they do their best to terrorize our lives. They may not be as infamous as Kangous Kahn, but we are afraid of what might happen if we are left alone in a room with them. They may not have gain as much press as Andrew Cunanun, Ted Bundy, and Timothy McVeigh, but their names still strike a cord of anger deep within us. We all know some ruthless people. They may be our relatives or an old high school rival. They may be our ex-husbands or our mother-in-law. Some of us work with them while others may live with them. Some of us gave birth to them while others where brought up by them. Ruthless people-- we all know some.
They may not be murderers but they have tried to murder our moral character. They may not be thieves but they have robbed us of our trust and confidence in people.
They seem to bring out the worse within us. They caused a faithful Moses to strike a rock in anger. They cause a powerful Elijah to pray for his own death. They made a peace loving Jesus turn over tables and chase out moneychangers. They caused a Christ-confessing Peter to lay down his religion and deny knowing Jesus. Ruthless people seem to bring out the worse within us. Stick and Stones may break our bones but the words that come from the mouths of ruthless people seem to kill us. They get on our last nerves and crawl under our skin. We hate the sound of their voices and try to avoid seeing their faces. Ruthless People -- we’ve watched them in action. We’ve watched them sleep their way to the top and step on any and everybody that got in their way. We’ve seen them break up marriages and destroy family households. We’ve seen them cause divisions and chase pastors out of the pulpit. Ruthless people -we all know some.
Our text gives us a brief story of another ruthless person. We are told that her name was Athaliah (meaning God is my affliction). She was a woman who gave ruthlessness a new meaning. Athaliah made JR. Ewing look like a little farm boy from Idaho. She made Erika Cain resemble the Virgin Mary. She put the ‘I’ in sin and gave wickedness the nickname – evil. She was every stepchild’s nightmare and every husband’s regret. Athaliah was the Queen of meanness.
She was Satan’s number one champion -- His employee of the month. No character in history would ever match her viciousness. Compared to Athaliah, Lady Macbeth had no ambition; the wicked witch of the west was just another fairy. Ebenezer Scrooge was sweet old man. And Dracula was just another chump in drag. Athaliah was the Queen of Meanness. She was ruthless. Not only would she take candy from a baby but also she would take a baby’s life. Not only would she stab you in your back but she would cut your throat in the process. She was definitely Jezebel’s daughter and Ahab’s offspring.
Her only friends were power and wealth. You see, power gave her comfort while wealth gave her security. Power gave her notoriety while wealth bought her friends. Power gave her ‘titles’ while wealth gave her influence. Athaliah let power and wealth rule her life.
She had it all but all that she had was still not enough. Her only ambition in life was to get to the Top and to stay there. However, with the success of gaining power came the fear of losing it. Athaliah lived her life in fear. She was afraid that everything she worked for would be taken away. She knew it was more difficult to keep wealth than it was to get it. She was fearful that her fame would wane and success would fade. She was fearful that a new young leader would bring about new ideas and attract new people.
She was afraid that new leadership would threaten her influence and change things in her environment.
Athaliah was much like us – shrewd, cunning, ambitious, and ruthless. She was much like ‘Kenneth Star’ and the Conservative Right digging up dirt just to get control over congress. She was much like the mass media and entertainment industry that broadcast sex and violence just to get good ratings and reviews. She was much like our local drug dealer who sells dope to pregnant women and children just to make a buck. Athaliah was much like some of our police officers that use excessive force just to experience the joys of power. She had the qualities of our racial hate groups who ‘scapegoat’ minorities for the ills of society. She was much like abusive husbands and vindictive wives who can’t get over old gripes and lay aside their bitterness. She is even like some of those in the church, trying to control policy and procedures and manipulate God’s people.
Athaliah was much like us – ruthless and ambitious. For six years, she ruled as queen of Judah with an iron fist until God raised up a revolution to deal with her unrighteousness. And that’s the good news. God always balances out the scales of justice. He will raise up an army of saints to deal with the powers and principalities in high places. Wickedness may prevail for a season but God’s righteousness will triumph for eternity. In this life or in the next, God will execute vengeance upon evildoers. What a man soweth so shall he reap. There are natural consequences to our evil deeds. There are divine judgements we must face in eternity. What goes around comes around. The ditch we dig for others, we often dig for ourselves. And the truth is that ruthless people lay up for themselves a constant amount of hatred and resentfulness. They usually reap a harvest of bitterness and scornful victims who seek to pay them back. Such is true of King Saul who ended up dead on the same sword he was trying to used to kill David. Such is true of Nero who was slaughtered by the same people who cheered at his slaughtering of thousands of Christians. Such is true of Marie Antoinette who ended up losing her head upon the same guillotine she intended for the revolutionaries. Such is true of Adolph Hitler who ended up lying in shallow grave similar to the millions he prepared for the Jews.
Yes, history shows us that wicked people receive natural consequences from their evil deeds; but the wicked will also receive divine judgement in eternity. What they don’t get down here on earth, God will give it to them on the day of Judgement. The hell they raise in this life is the hell they have to pay in the next. Take a look at the rich man who mistreated poor man Lazarus. In life, the rich man ignored the beggars at his doorstep but in death he found himself being a beggar in hell. In life, he used to ignore the sick and forsake the naked, but in death, he wanted comfort from his torment and consolation from his misery. The rich man learned that God is not mocked. Those who do evil shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Workers of iniquity will be cast into the fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. In this life or the next ruthless people will reap their just rewards.
But, as I continue to see the innocent die young, and saints suffer needlessly, I need to know how to handle ruthless people. I need to know how to keep my faith strong while ruthless people are stepping all over me and trying to ruin my life. How can I deal with the wicked while waiting on God to intervene? How long should we, as a people, tolerate their deeds before taking the initiative to put an end to their tyranny?
Well my bible tells me that we first need to protect the lives of the innocent. God is calling the church to take the initiative like Jehosheba in our story and rescue the innocent from their situation. Never should the church stand idly by while large corporations exploit the resources of small countries. Never again should the church tolerate countries enslaving the populace of others for their own economic benefits. Never again, should the church remain silent while thousands are exterminated because of their religious faith. Never again, should the church stand still while people are lynched and denied equal rights due to race, gender, and creed. Never again, should we let the homeless suffer the harshness of winter because there is no room for them at the local shelter. Never again, should we let the elderly or children in our neighborhood go hungry and ‘Cross of Life’ is not there to feed them and comfort them. We should get involve with local ministries and help them protect those who cannot fend for themselves. We should come out of our comfort zones and minister to those who are in need. In our dealing with ruthless people, the church must protect the innocent and help the weak. Only then will we become moral examples of righteous behavior. Only then can we fight the good fight of faith taking hold of the eternal life to which we were called. Only then will we be keeping the commandment of loving God and our neighbor without spot or blame.
If we are to confront ruthless people, we must be examples for others to follow. You see, people are watching us for guidance. They want to see how our faith holds up while dealing with tough situations. They want to see if we practice what we preach. Our witness to them is affected by how we cope with crisis. We can’t be effective witnesses looking like 40 miles of rough road. The world is watching us. We are being watched by our children in how we handle conflict and anger in our homes. We are being watched by our co-workers in how we deal with oppressive bosses and the pressures of dead lines in the workplace. We are being watched by the community in how we handle the issues of AIDS, sex, and teenage pregnancy. The eyes of the unsaved are upon us. Therefore, we must hold fast to our profession of faith. We are the royal priesthood called to aim at righteousness and godliness; faith and love; steadfastness and gentleness. In other words, we are to be the tree planted by the streams of water that yields fruit in due season. In seasons of troubles and distress, we are to yield peace and patience. In seasons of despair and persecutions, we are yield kindness and goodness. We should not grow weary in our well doing, for in due season we shall reap good fruit. We shall come forth like pure gold. Oh we may not look like much now, but wait when God gets through with us. Right now, we are still going through the refiner’s fire. Right now we are still being melted down and molded while enduring the fire.
And during my life’s journey, I have learned that the purpose for ruthless people in our lives is to serve as the fire. Augustine once said that “God created people he foreknew would turn evil because he not only foresaw what evil they would do but also what good he would bring out from their evil.” God is not the source of evil but he can use it for our good. He uses the handiwork of the ruthless for the betterment of his saints. You see, it was Jehovah Roi, who used the harsh hand of Sarah to show Hagar that God sees her every situation. It was the ‘Great I Am’ who used the hard heart of a Pharaoh to show the Hebrew slaves that Yahweh is a God of liberation. It was the son of Man who used the vanity of Nebuchanezzar to show the three Hebrew boys that God will go through with them through the fiery furnace. It was Son of God who used an old rugged cross and the cruelty of a mocking crowd to show us the glory of the resurrection. It was the Lord who used the ruthlessness of King George to show thirteen colonies in the New World the importance and value of independence. It was the Lord who used Jim Crow and Apartheid to show all people, that in Christ ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female.” The Lord uses the ruthlessness of the wicked to educate his people about the graces of God.
Ruthless people—yes we all know some but we also know about the grace of God. And that’s good news church. God has given us grace enough to deal with ruthless people. With his grace you can ‘Love your enemies, do good to them, which hate you, with his grace, you can ‘Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.’ With his grace you can turn the other cheek and not get angry. With his grace, you can say to your enemies, like Joseph said to his brothers, “You meant it for evil but God meant it for Good.”
