Calm is my act of resistance.
Over the past few months, this simple sentence has been my mantra whenever stressful situations arise. I do my best not to get flustered or angry (lest my frustration make things worse). I try never to let a situation overwhelm me (as helplessness doesn’t solve anything). Instead, I seek to remain calm, speak slowly, and act wisely.
I insist on making my coffee the slow way.
I make myself read every word in a book.
I take breaks in between patient visits.
Calm is my act of resistance, but what exactly am I resisting?
Throughout the New Testament, Paul talks about a concept called “powers and principalities.” The term is intentionally vague, sometimes referring to supernatural forces (chiefly angels and demons) and sometimes referring to earthly authorities (governments, institutions, etc.). While the former are certainly important, it’s the latter “earthly forces” that really fascinate me. These forces may not have souls of their own, but they are self-interested and wield immense influence in society. In an ideal world, they would serve God, but in a fallen world, their chief concern is self-preservation.
I always like using the example of the economy. An economy doesn’t have a soul, but it somehow has a will, it can get depressed, it has an invisible hand, and it drastically affects how we live our daily lives. You can serve an economy or resist an economy, but the economy’s ultimate goal is to bolster itself and keep itself going. So it goes with all the earthly powers, and once you unlock this way of seeing the world, you will start to see powers everywhere.
The prison system can be seen as a power.
Academia can be seen as a power.
Sickness can be seen as a power.
Death can be seen as a power.
When we’re not careful, our churches can even look more like powers.
Paul talks often about the importance of resisting the powers, and looking at our society, I see several trends that have taken on lives of their own. Stress, impatience, panic, rage— they’ve become forces of nature in modern America. They are self-perpetuating and disruptive, and with the fast pace of modern life, they sometimes seem overwhelming. They bleed out of us and confound us, and it seems like we’re caught in them at all times, so being calm isn’t just helpful or practical.
Calm is my act of resistance.
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Passages from Paul’s letters that reference powers and principalities:
Romans 8:38-39; 13:1-3
1 Corinthians 2:6-8; 15:24-27a
Ephesians 1:20-23; 2:1-2; 3:10; 6:12
Colossians 1:16; 2:9-15
List from Walter Wink’s Naming the Powers, which is a very comprehensive resource on this topic.
For a similar concept applied to U.S. politics, check out my previous post “Vote Brand X”.