we need fewer saviors & more disciples
[Welcome to our annual Guest Writers Series. Meet creative contributor #7...]
Who wants to be a disciple? This question sprouts in my mind every time I read the New Testament. The disciples came from humble backgrounds, followed Jesus Christ, and then died in a variety of gruesome ways. They abandoned the lives they knew, and their names are only remembered as the chapters of a book focused on Jesus Christ, the true “main character.”
Who wouldn’t want to be a savior? Jesus’s life mirrored most of his disciples’: rising from humble means and enduring a tragic death, but Jesus was the center of the story. The New Testament centers on Jesus and his expression of divine ability — to defeat death, perform miracles, wield the authority to judge others, and earn worship and admiration. Unfortunately, these have been envied by those hungry for a similar savior status.
Throughout history, a variety of tyrants have murdered and lied to earn a savior’s status. Augustus Caesar was described as a savior, although his empire killed generations of Europeans. Joseph Stalin labeled himself as a savior, yet murdered millions of his own people. Mussolini, Hussein, Hitler — more of the same mass-murdering self-described saviors. You might be curious how someone can call themselves a savior yet take the lives of millions? Because savior status is all about identity, not behavior.
Seeking savior status is the desire for a mythological life, not for its fragrant fantasy, but to assume an identity of mythological proportion. For tyrants, a mythological story is only proportional to who they believe they are. Their search for proof of their imaginary identity can directly contrast the quality of their actions. Even if they occasionally help others, tyrants who seek a self-aggrandizing mythology often care less about the value of life than their status of being a lifesaver. The search for savior status is independent of saving behavior, because you don’t need a mythical identity to save others.
Saving without Status
Do you know the name Vasili Arkhipov? He has been considered the “man who saved the world.” In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis had Soviet and American forces at a standstill, moments away from nuclear armageddon. Vasili was an officer aboard the Soviet nuclear submarine B-59, and in the middle of the crisis, they lost communication. Unsure if they were under attack, the captain and political officer ordered a nuclear launch. Vasili was the third vote needed for a unanimous decision to launch, and he refused. Did he perform a miracle? No. Did he draw a crowd of worshippers? No. Was he even captain? No. Vasili saved the world with his prudent and humane actions, not with his status.
The Need for Personal Mythology
If a savior identity isn’t required to save the world, then why do you need it at all? Because it rarely has anything to do with saving the lives of others, and everything to do with self-esteem. Self-esteem is each person’s estimate of their personal value. If it’s low, then someone may try to elevate themselves through status. Appearance, wealth, and achievement all promise to boost your worth as a person, but they never fill the hole in your heart. Unfortunately, a growing number of young people are currently falling into this same trap — envying savior status and personal mythology more than actions that actually help others.
It’s a phenomenon worth approaching with empathy and compassion. Young people often seek better mythologies in their future if they have lived agonizing stories in their past. If someone’s current identity is informed by past pain, abuse, or trauma, then it may create the hunger for future mythmaking. I don’t blame them, but expecting a mythical future to heal deep wounds is magical thinking.
Expecting future proof of identity is a fantasy. Sunshine doesn’t make the sun burn. The burning sun radiates sunshine — it’s ablaze regardless of what you see outside. You shouldn’t wait for sunshine as evidence of the sun as much as you shouldn’t wait for any mythology to prove who you are. You can adjust your habits, opinions, and achieve to the fullest extent, only to realize that a mythological story will not fill the emptiness in your heart.
Predictive Mythopoeia
Predictive mythopoeia means forecasting future myths, made entirely within someone’s imagination. It’s like writing a fantasy novel from back to front — but that means living life in reverse. It means having more certainty in a future mythical status than in grounded daily actions. It’s the false belief that a destiny of saviorhood is set in stone, waiting to be fulfilled. That’s not how reality works, and seeking a savior status this way implies that the lives of others are only a means to an end.
Predictive mythopoeia has been a hallmark of tyrants in the 20th century. Adolf Hitler’s fallacious certainty in his predictive myth was labeled as divine fate. In his 1936 speech, he said, “I go the way that Providence dictates with the assurance of a sleepwalker.” He framed his personal mythology as absolutely certain, as if it would happen regardless of his actions. The belief that divine providence was shown to him, and him alone, alludes to his already grandiose identity. There is little difference between wearing the crown and waiting for it to be placed upon your head; you believe you deserve it.
If the crown doesn’t fall upon your head, you might blame whoever refused to crown you. Predictive mythopoeia resembles entitlement — a mythic person will need proof of their mythic status, thus believing they deserve the aggrandizing story ahead of them. If someone threatens your path to a personal myth, you may claim victimhood — gatekept from your imaginary future. Throughout history, tyrants faced resistance to their savior status. They retaliated against anyone who wouldn’t validate their saviorhood. If your personal myth has a certain end, it permits unethical means to reach it. Maybe resistance to a mythic savior status is not the problem; maybe it’s the need for it at all.
Grace for the Mythmakers
You can observe someone’s hunger by how they shovel down food, just like you can notice someone’s low self-esteem by how badly they need to be a mythical person. We don’t hunger if we’re full, and we don’t predict our own mythology if we think we’re enough already. Predictive mythopoeia is founded on the lie that external value indicates internal value — that our self-esteem can only match the mythology we make. If someone needs to become a savior to be good enough, the problem was never their status — it was the lie they believed about themselves. What if they didn’t need status to be worth having around? What if they don’t have to be a savior to be worth loving? Maybe they don’t need a magical destiny to be as valuable as everyone else — maybe they always were.
Supporting Characters
A brilliant story is defined by the supporting characters — people who save but don’t need the status of savior. Novels like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are not just popular for their main characters, but for the supporting characters who love and protect them. In real life, medical professionals save people daily without acknowledgement. Your average nurse has saved more lives than any tyrant who claimed the title of savior. The biblical disciples were pivotal figures in the New Testament, and the Bible wouldn’t exist without them. Maybe it would be rewarding to be a disciple?
You can be a supporting character, but don’t pursue the status of savior — it will never patch the hole of low self-esteem. Instead, you can be a disciple, making a positive impact on others. You don’t need the power to perform miracles or a personal mythology to make a tangible difference in the world. One caring act by Vasili Arkhipov saved everyone from nuclear armageddon. You don’t need to become a savior to free yourself of your self-image; you are free to perform daily deeds of kindness. Tomorrow will simply offer you an opportunity to heal one more person in an aching world. It won’t be done by your story or identity; it will be done with helping hands and loving words.
Respectfully...
CBaucke, MS LLP
