Maniuplation

When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them.  Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them.  Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. [2 Samuel 15.5-6]

Two things happened here: Absalom manipulated the people and, the people were ignorant of being manipulated.

There is little worse than manipulation because it utilizes right treatment of people for wrong reasons.  Absalom showed great disrespect for his father in stealing the hearts of the people.  But likewise, Absalom showed great disrespect for the people in using them to accomplish his personal goals.  The fact is, Absalom cared not for the people but for the advancement of his own agenda.

The more frightening aspect of this story however involves the people.  The people blindly fell into Absalom's plan with little exception.  Loyalty was not a common attribute among them - instead, gullibility seemed to prevail over their hearts and minds.  They were wooed by the king's son utilizing the oldest trick in the book - deception.  Absalom deceived the people to think he cared for them but that the king didn't.  All the while, Absalom was using the people and they were eating it up.

Manipulation is a dangerous thing.  It remains today as perhaps the most dangerous method in the world to accomplish an agenda.  

Modern-day politics has sadly become a hotbed of manipulation.  Politicians are likened unto Absalom seeking not the welfare of the people, but fully intending to achieve personal goals.  The people of today likewise 'eat up' the rhetoric of politicians' promises and are foolishly being duped into advancing the politicians' agendas.

I'm not done yet!

Just as disgusting is the fact that in the hierarchy of the Church, very similar events take place!  Many congregations have been divided by stolen (and blindly given) loyalty.

The same process is evident in modern business.  Many companies are crippled by authority-usurping underlings who, despite utilizing the oldest, most well-known trick in the book, go undetected yielding great damage to the corporate structure.

Will it ever end?  Yes, when the father of manipulation meets his demise - when Satan is finally stripped of his liberty and cast into hell along with those he has deceived.

Until then, we must all be aware of ourselves: first, that we do not employ the methods of manipulation, but also that we do not fall victim to our own blindness and become deceived.  The bottom line to prevent both is to seek first the Kingdom of God and not our own!

Father, please help us to open our eyes and remain alert to our own manipulation of others as well as our vulnerability to be manipulated.  Remind us to seek You and Your Kingdom first!