Yes, why?
Why do the nations rage, and why do the peoples keep plotting hopeless plans?
. – Psalm 2:1 (Dale Ralph Davis)
Why do we see the world in such turmoil? We are aware of conflict in the Middle East, of conflict in Iran, of the ongoing war in Ukraine. But these are only a few of the hundred or more wars and conflicts tearing the world apart today.
Why? Why are leaders of nations prepared to sacrifice so many of their citizens, often in unjustified conflicts that they should know they cannot win?
Here are some reasons:
Hubris
Hubris is excessive self-confidence born of excessive pride.
“In ancient Greek culture, hubris was more than just arrogance; it was a dangerous overstepping of boundaries, especially those established by the gods. The Greeks believed that the gods set limits on human behaviour, and crossing these boundaries, particularly through acts of extreme pride or self-confidence, was seen as a direct challenge to divine authority.”
Hubris was “a central theme in many Greek tragedies, where it often serves as the tragic flaw (or hamartia) that leads to the protagonist’s downfall… In politics, hubris can manifest in leaders who overestimate their power or underestimate the complexities of governance.”[1]
There are many examples of hubris throughout Scripture.
Hubris is when the King of Syria thumps his chest and boasts against Israel: “The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me.”
To which the King of Israel responds, “Let not the one who puts on his armour boast like the one who takes it off.” (1 Kings 20:10-11)
In the Bible, excessive self-confidence like this springs from a failure to submit to the true God and to His laws. And in the Bible, the Greek word hamartia is “sin” – it is the most common word for “sin”, occurring 174 times in 151 verses in the New Testament.
History is littered with the hubris of leaders who “overestimated their power or underestimated the complexities of governance”. In nearly all cases the apparent “success” of such leaders has so gone to their heads that they are blind to the obvious lessons of history. How could Hitler have been so stupid not to learn from Napoleon’s ill-fated invasion of Russia 130 years before, but then attempt the same thing?
In our day we have witnessed Putin’s hubris in invading neighbouring Ukraine, thinking that in a few days his “Special Military Operation” would be done and dusted. However it will end (and I don’t pretend to know), when Putin ignored the advice his military experts gave against the invasion, he underestimated the willingness of a people to fight to defend their own country and did not count on a war lasting more than four years, with more than 1.2 million Russians killed, injured or gone missing.
The one bright hope for Putin is the current war in Iran, with Trump now easing sanctions on Russian oil (at a time when oil prices are high), while Putin continues to advise Iran when and where to hit U.S. targets. Trump’s “success” in Venezuela (and possibly Cuba) has gone to his head and now, in an act of blatant hubris, he has committed his country to a military operation that he repeatedly labels a “little excursion” (the correct term is “incursion”; not a short, leisurely vacation) – a war which it seems unlikely he can win. This was against the better judgment of military men who understood the situation; but their voices were not heard above the cacophony of voices of the sycophants he has surrounded himself with.
Trump refuses to learn from recent history: like Putin, he underestimated the willingness of a people to fight to defend their own country.[2] Nor is he willing to learn from the history of his own country. It was only back in 1971 that the Pentagon Papers were published[3]. There 36 military personnel, historians, and defence analysts revealed that all administrations from Harry S. Truman’s through to Lyndon B. Johnson’s had willingly deceived the American people about the nation’s involvement in Vietnam, telling them over and again, “We are winning” – when all the evidence pointed to the fact that the war was unwinnable.
In lockstep with this, Trump tells everyone: “The situation with Iran is moving along very rapidly. It’s doing very well. Our military is unsurpassed. There’s never been anything like it. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.” He has claimed dozens of times over the past two weeks that the conflict was “won” or “over” in the “first hour” of fighting – when it was obvious to all that it was not.[4] And now he is begging his European allies, that he has spent over a year demeaning and attacking, to cobble together some kind of “save the oil” coalition and save the war. Germany demurred: “This is not our war, and we didn’t start it… Neither the United States nor Israel consulted us before the war, and Washington explicitly stated at the outset of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired.” “Let not the one who puts on his armour boast like the one who takes it off.”
If only Trump had listened to the obscure Sicilian philosopher, Vizzini, who observed just before he died: “You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is: ‘Never get involved in a land war in Asia’.”
Revenge
A second reason leaders of nations fall victim to a classic blunder they should’ve known they cannot win comes down to simple revenge.
Revenge appears in the Bible in the line of Cain, most famously in Lamech, the first known polygamist, when he thumps his chest in a macho boast to impress his two wives:[5]
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
. – Genesis 4:23-24
Revenge motifs are prominent in the current war in Iran.
Pentagon Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, declared that there would be “no mercy, no quarter” given in this war. “No quarter” means that combatants, even if they surrender, will not be taken prisoner, but executed. Since 1899 this has been considered a war crime. Whether Hegseth understood what he was saying or not, it is very much the language of revenge.
Similarly, when Trump states that U.S. strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island had “totally demolished” the territory, but he “may hit it a few more times just for fun”, that is the language of revenge.
Revenge is a characteristic of an honour culture. Dr. C. John Sommerville, an English history scholar who taught at the University of Florida, observes, “honour means earning and insisting on respect from others” through shows of strength, even sometimes of brutal strength. Tim Keller comments: “An ethical system in a shame-and-honour culture is a self-regarding and self-actualizing ethic, but an ethical system that draws on Christian beliefs is an ‘other-regarding’ ethic based on a commitment to the good of others for their sake, not yours.”[6]
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue justice since justice, rightly pursued, will always be for “the good of others.” Nor does it mean you shouldn’t fight in a just war. But you fight for justice, not for personal honour. As Sommerville further writes: “With honour goes a concentration on pride rather than humility, dominance rather than service… glory rather than modesty, loyalty [to one’s tribe and people] rather than respect for all, generosity [only] to one’s friends rather than equality,” and revenge rather than forgiveness.
It is this that concerns me about the whole Make-America-Great-Again. I wrote about this a year ago (here). What concerns me is that the whole MAGA/America-First movement seems to me to be more of a self-serving “honour” movement (as described above), rather than a “thinking-of-others” movement. I know no country is perfect, or ever has been perfect; but I do believe America was greater when they cared about more than just being top dog; when they showed concern for the welfare of those in other countries besides themselves – something that has not come through, at least from Trump and his followers. This is sad, not least because I am sure many (most?) Americans are not happy with the way Trump portrays their nation.
Kiss the Son
In the end all hubris and revenge is about rebellion against God.
Why do the nations rage, and why do the peoples keep plotting hopeless plans?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Christ, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”
. – Psalm 2:1-3
It was so in the beginning with Lucifer:
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
“I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;
“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.
. – Isaiah 14:12-15
And it was so with Adam:
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
. – Genesis 3:4-6
In Russia, the Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, pronounced his blessing on Putin’s war in Ukraine.
In the U.S. a number of (so-called) Christian leaders from around the nation gathered at the White House recently to, once again, pray over the President, praying to God “for Your continued blessing and favour to rest upon him.”
But in the end it is not the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, or various Christian leaders, that these men should be seeking; but the blessing of Christ – and that, only by submitting to Christ and to His Word.
Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
. – Psalm 2:10-12
Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
Who made heaven and earth…
. – Psalm 146:3-6
[1] https://www.greecehighdefinition.com/blog/2024/9/1/the-ancient-greek-concept-of-hubris-and-its-modern-day-relevance
[2] I am not defending the obviously brutal regime that presently rules Iran, or denying the significant groundswell against them. I only question why Trump would imagine that bombing the living daylights out of the country is really going to solve anything or provide relief for those who are opposed to the regime.
[3] For those wanting to follow this up, Spielberg’s movie, “The Post” (available on SBS) seems to be an accurate retelling of events.
[4] Winning is all that matters to Trump. At SOTU Feb 24 he claimed: “Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me, ‘Please, please, please, Mister President, we’re winning too much. We can’t take it anymore’.”
[5] It is interesting to observe that so much culture sprang from Lamech’s line, including: animal husbandry, musical instruments, metal working (Gen 4:20-22). Culture is no proof of godliness.
[6] Quotes are from Timothy Keller’s book “Forgive” pp. 45-46