Reflection - Incompetence

By John Pearring

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061822.cfm
2 Chronicles 24:17-25
Matthew 6:24-34

A little more than fifty years ago a book was published which was well received by many even though it’s subject matter dealt with issues in the field of business management. The book was named after the man who developed the idea presented in the book even though he, himself, was not the book’s author. The man was Laurence J. Peter and the book was titled: The Peter Principle. You may have heard of one or the other.

The concept that was introduced declares that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to a level of respective incompetence. In other words, employees are promoted to a higher level job based on their success in their present job. Moreover, they will continue to be promoted until they achieve a level within the corporation at which they are no longer successful. In common parlance that is summarized with the brief statement that ‘everyone rises to their level of incompetence’.

Although the principle was oriented toward the world of business, it was readily apparent that it was applicable to any hierarchical structure. The situation with King Jo’ash in today’s first reading offers a ready example.

Jo’ash was only seven years old when he took the throne as king. According to the text “Jo'ash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoi'ada the priest.” (Chronicles 24:2) How could so much have changed by the time we get to today’s text?

“. . . the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joash, and the king then listened to them. They forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols.”

It would seem that what changed is disclosed in the text itself: Jehoi'ada died! 

The young king, Jo’ash, was able to live as the king the Lord meant him to so long as the priest, Jehoi'ada, was there to guide him. But his competence was dependent upon the wise guidance of Jehoi'ada. Left on his own, his incompetence as spiritual leader became evident.

Jesus also spoke about incompetence, though a bit differently.

Your competence does not extend to making even one hair on your head black or white.

Your competence does not extend to obtaining forgiveness without forgiving.

Your competence does not extend to protecting your possessions from moths, and rust and thieves.

Your competence does not extend to adding one cubit to one’s span of life.

Your competence does not extend to providing for yourself through worry.

Furthermore, our competence in the realm of holiness is non-existent. Jesus was speaking about ordinary issues of life where we can mediate some of the problems we must deal with but cannot change anything by excessive attention or worry about those issues. Spiritual competence is even more elusive. Here we begin with incompetence. Being perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Being merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful. Being holy as our Heavenly Father is holy. All these are beyond us from our birth. Like Jo’ash we need a mentor, a guide, an advocate. Alone, we struggle to do what is right or even to know what is right.

Our attempts to be perfect/merciful/holy are shackled with an insistence on working alone. In the spiritual realm we do not rise to our level of incompetence, we begin there. That is why our only recourse is to surrender to the one who can achieve in us what we cannot achieve in ourselves.