Herod and Figuring out What Drives Us

In Matthew's account of the infancy of Jesus, when Herod finds out from the three wise men that a king has been born that will rule Isreal, he orders that all the children under the age of two be killed, out of fear that the new king will grow up and take over from Herod.

What Herod does is not only monstrous, but stupid.  Fast forward twenty years.  With the average life expectancy in the ancient middle east at around 25 years or so, the years when an adult male would be available to work in the fields and serve in the army would be few and fleeting.  Consequently, Herod's genocide would have drastic consequences for Herod in the future, particularly in the reduction of males able to create products to be taxed and to strengthen Herod's armies.  Herod's genocide actual makes it more likely in the long run that his fears of losing power will come true.

There is in each and every one of us an underlying nature that causes us to do what we do.  It is the engine that drives us.  What drove Herod is the engine of fear.  We are all afraid, but when fear becomes the engine that drives us, we turn into dumb monsters like Herod and can commit terrible things.

We are all afraid.  But through God's grace, our underlying nature can be transformed.  The engine that drives us can be the engine of joy and service to others.  Our underlying nature can be holy.  As always, our example is Jesus, who as the Son of the King of Kings, was driven only to bring about the redemption and reconciliation of the world.