Bread and Games
March 3, 2009
Part of my current reading for seminary is a 600-page work that gives an “introduction” to the political, religious, social, and cultural background of the New Testament. In that reading, I came across a phrase with which I was unfamiliar: “bread and games” (or “bread and circuses”). Juvenal, a Roman poet, coined the phrase not long after the New Testament was written to describe the manner in which the Roman emperors satiated the masses in order to inoculate them to the shift of power from the people to the emperors. The exact quote goes as follows:
“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions – everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses” (Juvenal, Satire 10.77-81).
In other words, as long as the people had full stomachs and were able to watch the gladiators and chariot races, they did not put up a fuss about the way things were being handled in the Roman Empire.
Obviously this could be applied in a dozen different directions in our day, as American culture is “bread and games” perhaps more pervasively than any other culture on our planet. Yet beyond the direct political and cultural transfer of meaning, this phrase caused me to step back and consider what the Enemy uses as “bread and games” to keep us inoculated from eternal, spiritual realities.
Certainly the modern day “games” of sports, TV shows, movies, video games, etc. are means Satan uses to distract us from the real things of life. Yet he can also use more serious pursuits such as political involvement, engagement in finer arts, and even time spent with friends and family to inoculate us from that which lasts.
How do we avoid this? None of us wants to be lumped in with the ignorant masses whose only concerns have been reduced to basic needs and base entertainment. But how do we ensure that none of our pursuits-whether watching a movie or working in a homeless shelter-become bread and games?
The key lies in remembering what Satan labors to distract us from. Paul tells us that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). When Paul speaks of Satan blinding unbelievers from the gospel, I believe he is referring to the entire context of the gospel: the holiness of God, the sinfulness of humans, the eternal punishment our sin merits, salvation from this wrath through Christ’s death, and the eternal resurrection life believers will enjoy in a recreated world.
So during my week, whether I am listening to NPR, watching Lost, reading a “serious” political article, wrestling with my boys, or delivering food and clothes to be distributed to our neighborhood’s poor families, I must ask myself: am I doing this in a way that remains engaged with God’s redemptive story? Are the realities of God’s holiness, humanity’s sinfulness, and Christ’s redemptive work in my immediate perspective? Does my sense of “what will last” reach beyond my 80th birthday to 80,000 years after Christ has defeated sin, Satan, and the world once and for all?
May these and other gospel-informed questions consistently scrutinize every aspect of our lives so that we might not fall prey to silly or sophisticated bread and games.
Pastor Chris