What is Ceasar's

What is Ceasar’s?

I was recently asked to be a judge in a high school science research competition. It was an interesting experience, totally outside anything I had done before. Because of this, an interesting thought came to mind; why do we compete? Surely the world is full of televised competitions from the inane to the insane and our daily lives seem filled to the brim with competition. So why do we compete?
The easy answers can range from fame, glory, the money, to survival, promotion, etc. All these we have experienced at one time or another, in some shape or form. But we have never really stopped to wonder why and ask ourselves why we do it. Why will I risk potential public humiliation, just to compete?
A long time ago, when communities recognized any champion, he or she rose in stature in that community; they might even become king or most revered priest, doctor, wise man, you name it. And that was enough. Over time, this role naturally brought prestige and eventually, to some degree, a form of corruption. Corruption certainly was not as we experienced it today (not enough money and too little government I suppose); rather, corruption in an older society took the form of some sort of hardening. I suppose you could say it was like the setting of cement over time; it just got harder and stronger.
The reason a community recognized one of its own as “champion” was because they understood that this individual, arising from within their group, was able to apply him or herself to such a degree that the entire community benefited. The champion expected nothing in return, simply the respect of his or her community and even that, the communities were free to bestow or not. Imagine a playground where there are several children of ages five to six. In the yard, there rises a gigantic tree, its lower branches inviting the children to climb. They hesitate. Then one takes it on, struggles up the tree, cheered and supported by the other children. Every step of success of this child, is the success of the entire group. This child now become the hero, the champion, and is looked on in a different light. The group now has a hero and a champion, the best, which also makes the group the best. And yet, unlike other contests, this group, and their champion are more than happy to share their experience with another group. Sure, there is some taunting that goes one but eventually, the sharing takes place. The champion is, at the end of the day, just one of them.
In ancient history, such a champion was once called a dictator. In Roman society, which abhorred monarchies, dictators were a necessity in times of crisis. His task was to ensure that all efforts of the society were, to use a modern term, centrally coordinate, to ensure the greatest success of the society. When the crisis ended, the dictator reverted to their former role. This would seem almost unthinkable in modern society. How could this be so? Perhaps, the people of ancient Rome were moved by a deeper connection to something that we today can no longer experience as readily. Perhaps, the dictators themselves were quite exceptional people, of exceptional moral fiber. Whatever the case may be, it would seem to indicate that these early dictators had the special something that made them truly exceptional. Sadly, even that changed.
Dictators in Roman society became the norm. Then, to ensure their tenure, they created the job role of emperor. And if that wasn’t enough, they proceeded to eliminate all possibilities of redundancy by getting themselves deified. To know who the current emperor-god was, one only had to look at the coinage and lo and behold, there was the profile of the current emperor-god. There, they were “immortalized” forever frozen on the face of a coin.
This perhaps gives us best insight into what happened. These once extraordinary men, men of tremendous moral and physical courage, simply froze or hardened, such as appearing on coins. By become so hardened, they lost that wonderful flowing capacity to stand balanced between what is morally just and what is only of material concern. By becoming the currency of the time, they literally stamped their beings into the material concern of their people. The small child conquering the tree retained this flexibility to be able to stand between heaven and earth. The dictator, who believed himself god, sought to stand firmly where he ruled – earth.
A long time ago, some community leaders, responsible for the moral guidance of their society, challenged a single man with a question. They were hoping to trick him into giving an answer that would clearly show that he was a trouble-maker, a law-breaker. The community leaders, just like the now corrupted Roman dictators, had taken it upon themselves to be the sole interpreters of the laws of God. They too brought a coin as part of their challenge. Not to be misled, the single man they challenged simply looked at the coin and saw the profile of Tiberius. The answer was simple. Clearly the coin belonged to the current ceasar. What astounded the community leaders was not this part of the answer (as this was quite obvious) but rather that this single man continued his answer to include a moral answer. Yes Tiberius may rule the world with this coins, but as long as he stands solely on earth, he will be exactly like the coin, just a profile and never a complete man (or god as Tiberius would have certainly preferred). Humanity is more than this, he continued, humanity has a moral side, not visible in the coin, but for which humanity is equally responsible.
Why do we compete then? Surely not to prove our “manliness”? That would seem too obvious. Perhaps we compete because deep down inside us, there arises a welling for a sense of truth, fairness, effectively, morality, that is struggling to get out. We can let the profile of Ceasar rule the day; but it would only remain a profile. In the end, to be complete, we must not forget the deepest spiritual stirrings that make us truly part of humanity. Yes, at one time, great ceasars strode on earth but at a cost. Now, humanity has the chance to redeem itself and stand balanced between ceasar and God.