The Human Overlord

Caught up in Tolkiensian imaginings, you might think of the overlord who is beyond redemption, a fallen angel turned into a lidless eye, a thing you knew was never human and always to be feared. It is easy to hate what you have demonized.

But the truth in human reality is always messier. Over the years, I've had difficulties with human hierarchs and they have had problems with me. I am not one for giving respect where it is not due.

Neither am I one to withhold respect where it is due. I've put on record, and meant it each time, what I have said of former overlords. Of one, I said she was hardworking, determined, willing to get her hands dirty; of another, I said he was the most focused educational administrator I'd ever met and the best student when attempting to learn something new. I have served many earthly masters, and I have never met a single one who didn't have something good in them.

You see, everyone has at least one gift. The only problem in using that gift is when it is not used the right way; either it is overshadowed by evil weeds, or its light is dimmer than the shadows. When a leader decides to do evil, whether out of ignorance or spite, we call it 'turning to the Dark Side' ever since George Lucas made that iconic. When a leader decides not to do good, whether out of meanness or out of caution, it is a move away from the light and down into the shadows.

The steps of a man's faith are simple. Find your gift. Use it to serve. Remember all that is asked of you is to use that gift in ministry to others. The bargain is: for each gift, the use of that gift. The other things are always forgiven, as long as the gift was used aright and the mission served.