Previous Post – St. Francis de la Sissies

This morning, while visiting the blog of Joe Gerstandt (@jerstandt), I came across a video that showed a re-creation of Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience to authority.  The video (broken into 3 parts) are worth taking the time to watch and will explain themselves.  After watching them, scroll down for some further thoughts:

While watching these events unfold, I could not help but feel a degree of anger and judgment in respect to the “teachers” who inflicted the pain.  I could argue that, in my commitment to non-violence, I would have not participated in the experiment at all.  Though this is true, it fails to see the underlying lesson this experiment teaches us: Each of us is significantly prone to allow external factors or persons justify actions that cause harm to others.

It is easier for us to look at such an explicit example and say that we are above such actions.  However, the reality is that most of us participate in this scenario every day.  How often do we participate in systems- be they economic, governmental, ecclesial, etc.- that ultimately produce benefits for us that cost others dearly?  By stating that we are participating in systems set up and governed by other authorities, we can rationalize away our own culpability by either blindly “trusting” those in authority or helplessly claiming that “We live in the world and the world is thus”.

Further, we do not have to look to far outside ourselves to justify our actions and inaction.  Our passionate ideologies and strong convictions give us a moral high ground to stand on, even though few of us actually live up to the standards we so nobly espouse.  We may take occasional action, but too often it is token, like those who imitate the protests and marches seen in clips of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Gandhi, as though their authority stemmed from a public speech or protest march, not long lives of brutal sacrifice and uncertainty.

The fact the a small percentage of the group refused to continue is not anomalous.  This stands as true in our lives and churches as it does in this experiment.  And beyond the refusal to do harm, how many of us actively pursue the alternative, living radically different lives- doing justice and loving mercy in our humble pursuit of Christ-likeness?  I know I am too often guilty of taking the easy out.

Being like Christ is the path of most resistance. It is the lifestyle requires more of us than any other.  It requires us to consistently examine ourselves and our world.  It requires the sacrifice of the good in order to embrace the best.  It requires a daily discipline of putting God and others first, even to the point of loving those who hate and hurt us.  In short, it requires the Cross.

God, have mercy on me a sinner…