In the film, “Almighty Bruce,” actor Jim Carey plays a down-on-his-luck, unhappy business executive named Bruce who, one day, happens to meet God face-to-face. Complaining about his life and how God seems to screw things up, God gives him the chance to be God to see of he could do the job better. Just think of it: what if you had the chance to be God for even one day? What would you do? While I would probably create the cure for cancer, I would also be tempted to set myself up financially for when I became my human self again. I would probably also use the opportunity to exact juicy revenge on a couple of not so favorite people. I would definitely think carefully about transforming the minds of some of our politicians!
Well, suffice it to say, Bruce gets the job and bungles it badly. Even attempting to do good things, he finds out just how difficult it is being God according to his own agenda. It turns out, being God—even for a day—is a pretty thankless job. One man did indeed try it; his Hebrew name was Yeshua bar Joseph. We know him as Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that, in order to pull it off, Jesus had to “empty himself, becoming a slave.” And if that wasn’t enough, he had to “become obedient to death on a cross.” Paul further has the audacity to tell us we should likewise act like this, having this same self-sacrificial mindset. So much for the Jaguar XKE and the second home in Hawaii. Whenever we’re tempted to play God in other’s lives, we need to take a long, hard look at what that really entails. Ultimately, if we want the job and we want to do it right, it entails our death, “even death on a cross.” How bad do you want the job? The truth is, as Christians, we’re called to it: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”
Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,
saying,
‘Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!’
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’
He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’
The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
