The Tyranny of Little gods
Facing the Good Promises
In Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse we are introduced to a character called Miguel O’Hara. This no nonsense character is burdened by the weight of policing the entire multiverse, which is theoretically infinite. I have no idea how one person is able to balance that act, but maybe that is why he is so angry all the time. Anyway, Miguel essentially functions as the leader of the all the super powered spider characters in this universe, assigning teams to go to different dimensions and deal with potential “anomalies.” You see, every world with a Spider-Man has a set path. There are repeated events, which no matter the world the Spider-Man is a part of, these events will happen. Like every Spider-Man has an uncle figure die on them. These events can also be good, like dating Gwen, another recurring character in the Spider-Man world. Somehow Miguel knows which events must happen, like letting someone die, while which events they can intervene in. This brings the central conflict to the forefront. Miles Morales, our hero, learns that his father will die soon and this is one of these Canon events, which must be allowed to happen. But Miles fights back. He wants to save his father for obvious reasons. However, Miles learns his own friends were also in on it. They didn’t want to tell him for fear of how he would react and they would all be there to prevent him from doing anything stupid. At one point, they slip up and say, “Miles, it was for your own good.” To which he says, “who decides that?”
The tyranny of little gods do what is good for you in their eyes. Decisions about what is best for you in life do not hang on your own shoulders, rather they burden those who know more and can see more, even though they are fallible. In our information age, the ability to critique and consider what is good for others, or even for ourselves, is more apparent. I think we see these little gods in all avenues of our world. We forfeit our thoughts to experts, from what we hear on the news about geopolitics, to smaller ideas about how to live daily. In many cases, it is not that these smaller gods have outright control over our lives, but rather that we submit our decisions to them. The trick is to hear the promises. What are these little gods promising? A successful business? Better productivity? A new move forward toward self-actualization? Self-care that actually works?
I find we each have in small ways some sort of submission towards these little gods. It can be in small forms, such as how you spend your free time or what you do to relax, or in bigger ways, such as the values which guide the way you interact with others or have career goals. And most of all the issue lies in the sense that we know whats best.
“People did whatever they felt like doing.” - Judges 21:25 (MSG)
The end of the book of Judges ends with the ominous words above. A nation which forgot its purpose and lived judging for themselves what was best. Doing whatever they felt like doing. In Spider-Man, Miguel O’Hara had no ability to know if his policing of the multiverse was effective or good in any way. How could he? He is a limited fallible human being, with no sense of omniscience at all. Miles’ question cuts to the core of the issue, “who decides that?” Even for our own lives, it can often be hard to know what is best for us. Our preferences and biases often muddy the waters, while we only ever see a glimpse of our own lives. I have no idea what will happen tomorrow, next year, let alone ten years from now. So how can I fully know what will be best for me to do in these minutes and hours of my day?
We need to submit to someone who does know what is best for us because He knows what will happen, why it will happen, and how it will happen. We are finite and uncertain in our lives. Tragedy can strike or great joy and triumph. Yet, we don’t know. So our trust must be placed somewhere. And my recommendation is the one who created us and has given us a purpose. The one who loves us and has laid His life down for us. Jesus has shown us so much about life in this world and what it may look like being fully entrusted to the Father. Let’s turn away from the tyranny of little gods, especially when we think of ourselves as little gods, and turn instead to the benevolence of God’s rule in our lives.