How to Choose A King

 

After a long test of loyalty to the game and competency in playing it, a team celebrates winning

In this post, I will be describing a process for a nation choosing a king. By using the word king, I am simply referring to the person among any group that has the most influence, receives the most honor, and commands the most respect and allegiance among the respective group. We could also use the word leader, captain, and a host of other names to signal this highest personification of a groups ideal. For the purpose of a nation, “king” seems to be the best word so I will stick with that one. Let any reservations about the definition or goodness of a king be resolved by the process of choosing one. 

1. Objection #1: I don’t need a king

I can hear someone objecting immediately to the very concept of a king. In the name of equality, isn’t a king an outdated concept. It is true that western government have abandoned this term and have rightly been weary of the role of a king in governing a nation. If you are skeptical of a king, let me also ask if you are skeptical of hierarchies as well. Is it wrong for us to have World Series to decide who is the best baseball team or is it wrong for us to elect presidents to decide who should be in that office? The fact is that hierarchies are all around us, some celebrated and some scorned. The good hierarchies are often those that help us decide what ideas are best or which people best embody those ideas. Sporting events and free market capitalism are often associated with these types of hierarchies. Other hierarchies tend to do the opposite, which leads to the worst participants rising to the top causing good ideas to be rejected and good people to suffer. These hierarchies are often marked by corruption, fear, violence, cheating, scandal, and a since of arrogance from those at the top. These hierarchies are often short lived but result in destruction, leaving everyone who participates in the system poorer and sometimes dead. Thus, it seem inevitable for us to live in a world of hierarchy with certain people and ideas receiving more honor than other people and ideas. Our task as individuals is to participate in determining which ideas are honored and which people are defended. In other words, the task of any group, whether it be a nation or a baseball team, is to determine who best embodies the ideas, character, morality, and ability that will result in the outcomes desired, whether that be peace and prosperity for a nation or a World Series championship for a baseball team. 

Objection 2: What if I refuse to obey the king? 

Before I get into the specifics for how to choose a king, let me also address another common error in this process which is the power of denial. The power of denial is a strategy a person might deploy to ignore responsibility or reality. This is the person who says “I will refuse to obey the king.” The person who wields this power might claim that they don’t have any role in choosing a king, don’t have to honor any ideas over another, and resents anyone who tries to become a king. No matter what, this person is disagreeable, resentful, and defiant to the very idea of responsibility and honor. Truly at the heart of this person is a desire to do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences. In fact, they might say they even have the right to have other people protect them from the consequences of their actions and also have the right to refuse to even recognize the consequences of their action. This person might be willing to kill, steal, and destroy their neighbor and feign complete ignorance about the situation and ignore even the concept of truth and justice when confronted with evidence of their crimes. This person or spirit is what I will refer to as the Anti-King and it is the greatest enemy of the king but also the easiest to defeat. Unlike a worthy opponent who is using his or her ability to be a better King, the anti-king chooses to be the opposite. Where the King is the greatest follower of the Law, the anti-king is the greatest opponent. Where the King is loyal to the truth, the anti-king is loyal to lies. In a baseball game, two teams treat each other with a level of mutual respect because despite the competitive nature of the game, they are also cooperating by upholding the rules and spirt of the game. Someone who disregards the rules and violates that spirit of cooperation deserves no respect at all and they are rightfully kicked out of the game. In the same way, the Anti-King is banished from the kingdom for this spirit does not belong in the realm of the king. 

How to Choose A King

Now that we have handled a common objection and address what to do with the anti-king, let’s discuss the method for choosing a king

STEP 1: Describe the King

What are kingly words, intentions, actions, and outcomes? What are the highest possible aims of the nation or people group? I will do my best to answer this question now. 

The king is the best of the best among the people. 

The concept of the best has many levels of analysis including physicality, morality, capability, beauty and intelligence. I would argue that these attributes too can be put into a type of hierarchy with morality being the highest of them all. The reason for this is because morality is the means by which a person decides what is the best attributes needed to achieve a particular goal, which in the case of the king is the success of the nation. Morality is accompanied by a commitment to truth since surely only mental blindness can result in the evasion of reality. Subsequently a commitment to truth necessitates a commitment to logic and reason on which all language, even the language needed to describe the king must be established. Thus we might be willing to say that Logic itself is the King of kings and that any king must be the one most committed, capable, and competent at wielding their capacity for reason and logic. With reason and logic, the king will be able to honor his people for who they are, since reason and logic is a process of identification. This will necessitate honoring the free spirit of his people as the supreme law of the land, since all men are free whether we recognize this or not, while aiming at material abundance as the desired outcome of that law, since all men are in need of food, water, clothing, shelter, and other material blessings. The king of logic and reason will recognize and honor the source of all things and pay homage to that source, which means the king of logic and reason will recognize and honor the capacity for logic and reason in his people. Thus, the king of logic will, by virtue of being king, also be the one who is most zealous to protect and defend the freedom exercised by his people. 

This has been my attempt to describe my king. I could have used a different description but I find major problems with any other definition. For instance, I could say that my king is the most physically strong, but how small is the physical strength of one man compared to 20 of his enemies? What would unite 20 people against one person if not logic and reason? The king of logic may be weak but by being a king of logic and reason, he can persuade his followers of his goodness and defend against the king of might. Therefore, the king of might bows to the king of logic. Since intelligence and morality are derivatives of reason and logic while beauty is a derivative of might, I see the battle of kings primarily being between the most powerful versus the most reasonable and that power in the service of reason yields blessings while reason cannot submit to power. Therefore, reason and logic are higher in the hierarchy of the description of the king. This isn’t to say that a king shouldn’t be healthy, physically strong, and beautiful but these are secondary qualities that often only flourish when they rightfully fall under the domain of the mind. 

Step 2: Find the King - Who meets the description of the king?

Once you have described the king in your mind, how do you find him. An analogy might be helpful here. How do we find the best hockey team? We establish rules for who wins games and develop a competition between players and teams. Remember, this only applies to players who accept the rules of the game. Anti-game cheaters or anti-king actors are by definition barred from participating. In the case of a search for a king, we could first eliminate all anti-king actors. We would do this by testing them with a few simple questions verified by evidence. 

Question 1: Do you swear allegiance to The King of Logic and Reason, in word and in deed?

Question 2: Do you swear to take responsibility for all your actions within the Kingdom of Logic and Reason?

Question 3: Do you swear to defend yourself from all attacks against your exercise of Logic and Reason?

Question 4: Do you swear, as much as you are able, to defend your neighbor from all attacks against their exercise of Logic and Reason?

Question 5: Do you swear to never violate your conscience or the conscience of another citizen of the Kingdom of Logic and Reason, even at the cost of your life?

Question 6: Do you swear to never use any false concept like coercion, force, or corruption as an excuse for your actions? 

Question 7: Do you swear to renounce all forms of anti-logic and reason such as taxes, irrational laws, and the initiation of violence against another human being?

Only a person who will affirm these 7 questions and provide ample evidence of the sincerity of their answer can be a member of the Kingdom of Logic and Reason. As you can see, these questions emphasize submitting all words, actions, and outcomes to the service of Reason and Logic. This test would look very different in the kingdom of strength and might. In that anti-kingdom, the questions of loyalty will demand the submission of reason and logic to the service of power and might, resulting in constant contradictions and violations of reason and logic. The anti-king of power is chosen not for reasons but because he is the greatest enemy of reason and willing to bring all his resources to the destruction of freedom, reason, and logic. In this way we can see that the Kingdom of Logic and Reason is the Kingdom of Life while the Anti-Kingdom of Power and Strength is the Kingdom of Death. 

Step 3: Become the King - Are you supposed to be the king?

Now that we have established a 7 question litmus test for who is an eligible to be king in the Kingdom of Logic and Reason, we turn to ourselves as members of this kingdom. Step 3 is the point of our process were we compete to become the king. In the kingdom of power and strength, becoming the king means becoming brutal, tyrannical, and cunning. In the kingdom of reason and logic, becoming the king means becoming articulate, competent, and wise. Whereas the battle for the throne in the kingdom of power demands slavery, yours and everyone else’s, the battle for the throne in the kingdom of logic demands freedom. Because these two kingdoms are in conflict, there may be a time when members of the kingdom of logic and reason are confronted by members of the kingdom of power and strength. These conflicts are necessary and are opportunities for each to prove their loyalty to their respective kingdoms. Since the most loyal members of the kingdom of power are paralyzed by fear and irrationality, all a member of the kingdom of logic and reason needs to do to win these battles is maintain their commitment to reason and logic. By pointing out to their opponent that they are committing treason by using reason instead of force and logic instead of strength, the opponent will either need to become impotent or concede the battle and convert to the kingdom of reason and logic. 

Step 4: Honor the King - How what you honor and support is more important than what you vote for

These last two points are natural outgrowths of the first 3 and will need very little explanation. Just like we honor the winners of the World Series, we will be compelled to honor and support and celebrate the most loyal to reason and logic among us. Ironically, however, it would not be right for us to dishonor the losers of the World Series. If the game is approached the right way, both teams will equally express gratitude for each other’s commitment to the game. The only person that is dishonored in the game of baseball are the cheaters and the anti-game players. In the same way, the only person who is dishonored in the Kingdom of Logic and Reason are the anti-king actors who are committed to power and strength. 

Step 5: Defend the King - Whatever defeats the king will rule over you. 

Of course, the winner of the World Series deserves more honor than the loser. This is logical and rational. To honor the loser of the World Series more than the winner would be irrational and those who do so on irrational grounds should be instructed why they are in error. If the error was one of ignorance, then they will see the fault in their judgements and repent. If they error is one of morality, where they begin to express contempt for reason and logic, then they risk being banished from the kingdom. In this way, each of us are compelled to express our reasons for giving honor and dishonor so that we may bring all our thoughts under the domain of reason and logic. Any attempts to hide our actions, conceal our desires, or subvert reason and logic must be rejected. If we allow irrational or illogical standards to defeat logic and reason, we will be ruled by the illogical and irrational. 

These are the 5 Steps to Choosing a King. I hope they are helpful for you. I believe this is an accurate description of this process and a faithful explanation of the nature of the King we all seek. In the Gospel of John, John says that Jesus Christ was the Word of God. The Greek word for Word is “logos” which is where we get the word Logic from. The Bible describes Jesus as the King of Kings and commands us to adopt the mind of Christ. For these reasons, I believe that Jesus is the source of all our good thoughts, competent actions, and successful plans. He is the source of our humility before reality and through Him, that is our capacity for logic and reason, we will dwell in His kingdom and live forever. 

It is for this reason, we should all cry, “Come Lord Jesus, send down your logic and your mind. Mold me by your spirit and may I be the first in your kingdom by being the most submissive to you on earth.” Amen.