“The
Godfather” movie trilogy tells the story of several generations of the
fictional Corleone family. The central characters, father and son Vito and
Michael Corleone lead a Sicilian mafia family.
They lie. They steal. They murder.
They deal in corrupt politics. In
the movies, they are (reluctantly) responsible for the explosion of the illegal
drug trade in Black neighborhoods. They
are the bad guys, but I like them.
There’s
a scene in the first movie, where Don Corleone, Vito played by Marlon Brando,
is in a garden sharing life lessons with his son and successor Michael, played
by Al Pacino. It’s a tender scene of a
father in the days of waning strength anxiously trying to pass every ounce of
his wisdom to the son who must carry the family legacy. It’s the kind of scene that every man wishes
he had shared with his dad and can share with his son.
Only
father and son in this scene are tenderly reviewing instructions for a series
of assassinations.
I realized that I like the Corleones becuase they remind me of another family. Thousands
of years before the Godfather story was invented, before there was a mafia,
before there were Sicilians, ancient records preserved a similarly terrible and
tender scene between a dangerous man and his powerful son. Their names were David and Solomon.
Now
the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son,
saying: “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove
yourself a man. (1 Kings 2: 1, 2)
David
reminded his son of the promises of God and of the godly legacy their family
was covenant-bound to uphold. He said,
“Keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His
statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is
written in the Law of Moses. ” Then he went over all the people that he wanted
his son to have killed. (1 Kings 2: 3-8)
One
of Solomon’s targets was named Joab.
Joab was David’s friend and most trusted general until he violated
David’s orders and killed the king’s rebellious son Absalom. To prevent another
civil war in Israel, David guaranteed Joab’s safety as long as he lived.
David
forgave, but he never forgot.
Solomon
dispatched his favorite assassin Benaniah to execute the hits.
By
the end of chapter 2, all of David’s old enemies and all of Solomon’s personal
rivals are “dealt with.”
One
of those rivals was Adonijah, Solomon’s older brother.
To
secure his kingdom, Solomon had his older brother killed.
Then
King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if
Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! (1 Kings 2: 23)
We
see the Corleones for what they are: bad men trying to be good men while doing
bad things with a bit of religion on the side. In other words, sinners without the Savior. The fictional Corleone family of Sicily and the
historical Bar-Jesse lineage of Bethlehem: they’re the same.
Here’s
why. The Corleones
and the descendants of Jesse had moral codes. They participate in and extravagantly contributed to religion. They did the same things and they were MISSING the same thing. None of them had a personal relationship with the Savior and the accompanying indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Without
the Holy Ghost, we are all bad men trying to be good men while doing bad things
with a little religion on the side. The lesson
of the gangster families is that without the Holy Ghost we will fail our families.
And our churches. And our communities.
Therefore
the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My
covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the
kingdom away from you and give it to your servant (1
Kings 11: 11)
The
power to protect our families and to project a prosperous and legitimate legacy
doesn’t come from money, station, personal loyalties, or violence. It comes from a real relationship with God
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is
God’s promise.
The Lord has sworn in truth to David;He will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne the fruit
of your body.If your sons will keep My covenant and My testimony which I shall teach them, their
sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”(Ps 132:11-12)
It’s
an offer you can’t afford to refuse.
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer,
community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural
leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is
pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director
of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development
for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
#Awordtothewise
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order may be mailed to
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P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064
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