“You Brood of Vipers”
Religious or not, most people know about the serpent that convinced Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Serpents have ever since been symbols of dangerous seduction.
“You brood of vipers!” is what John the Baptist yelled at a gathering of religious leaders. Not just one serpent, but a whole brood of them. What was it that John was accusing them of doing?
I think he was accusing them of doing everything they could to distract ordinary people from receiving the blessing of God’s grace by demanding they adhere to rules and regulations so burdensome that ordinary people would have a hard time keeping them. In those days it had to do with ritual cleanliness and the observance of very strict rules of behavior before one could participate in temple services, the only place where they could be assured of forgiveness and enter into a right relationship with God.
John believed they were seductive serpents enticing people away from God’s presence and grace.
That was 2,000 years ago and much has changed, but broods of vipers are still among us, seducing us not only away from God and God’s grace, but away from our own well-being in the ordinary ways of everyday life.
Some broods of vipers are still religious leaders proclaiming ways of faith far removed from everything God has revealed to us through scripture, tradition, and reason. From gifted hucksters to the self-deluded, some believe they have mastered the art of combining entertainment with a vaguely religious message punctuated with frequent use of the holy name. They offer emotional promises with one hand while picking the pockets of their followers with the other. And it works because they know how to seduce.
What is true of some is not true of all. Most religious leaders are persons of faithful integrity who desire only to proclaim God’s authentic intent for the well-being of all God’s people, and to assist followers in making decisions and leading lives to the fullest of all they are capable of being. Out of love, in love, and for love of others is the fundamental motivation of most religious leaders in most denominations and congregations.
Like every human being, they have their strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, but they are intent on trying to do the right things for the good of all. Perhaps their greatest weakness is that they are not as slick as the broods of vipers.
There are other broods of vipers in society. Indeed, that is where most of them live. They seduce people into making decisions contrary to their own best interests and well-being by promising what cannot be delivered. Each disappointment is followed by an even more generous promise of what cannot be delivered. It’s a repetitive cycle that works amazingly well for a long period of time.
The political arena is the most obvious example, but it is not the only one. Campaign promises have become the butt of many jokes, yet voters can be counted on to fall for them. These past few years have been a particularly difficult time because the nation has been led down a path of self-destruction by broods of vipers who have promised greatness, glory, and prosperity while producing the opposite for ordinary people. Meanwhile, they have lined their pockets with riches for themselves.
It would be easy to lump all political leaders into a basket of vipers. Many people do, and it is a grave mistake. The nation has been fortunate to have had so many citizens in public office offering their services for the good of the people they represent. We see it all the time in city councils, on school boards, and in state capitals. The same is true for Congress and the administrations of most presidents in the last 125 years.
That there have been congressional leaders and administrations dominated by broods of vipers is a sad commentary on our nation, but we have always awakened to the danger in time to recover, as I am sure we always will.
Broods of vipers also exist in the private sector. They seduce us by offering products of little value, products we don’t need, products that lack the nutrition they claim to have, and products that are truly dangerous to us. They are offered with such enticing skill that we are easily persuaded to hand over hard-earned money for things and services contrary to our own best interests and well-being.
Yet vipers slither among honest and equally hard-working producers of goods and services that we truly need. It isn’t always easy to tell the difference.
In what seems counterintuitive advice, scripture counsels us to be innocent as doves and wise as serpents. It means to be persons of integrity living into the way of God’s healing and reconciling love while being fully aware of the broods of vipers doing their best to distract us with things newer, better, bigger, and more satisfying.
We cannot be naïve. We need all the wisdom of which we are capable to avoid being seduced into making decisions against our own best interests and well-being.