86 THE FAITHFUL READER For Willie Stark, and other corrupt politicians, the law is never honored or respected. Rules are for suckers. Judges, like referees, can be threatened or bribed, and laws, if inconvenient, can be ignored or changed, depending on what is available. The law, Stark says, is “like a single-bed blanket on a double bed and three folks in the bed on a cold night,” or “like the pants you bought last year for a growing boy…The best you can do is do something and then make up some law to fit.” Willie Stark’s corruption is rooted, we are told in All the King’s Men, in his selfishness. Willie is the center of the universe, and everything in it must bend to his will and for his own satisfaction. When Jack Burden, during a moment of reflection, is asked to explain Governor Stark, he proclaims that Stark is not interested in money, or sex, or even power. In the end, “He’s interested in Willie. Quite simply and directly.” The Bible and the Corruption of Political Power The Bible is full of history, especially in the Old Testament. The rise and fall of kingdoms and empires can be traced across its pages. God’s plan is for government to pursue righteousness by rewarding the good and punishing evil (see Rom. 13:1-7). Government’s justice should be blind, showing no partiality to the rich or powerful (see Amos 5). Israel’s history, unfortunately, provides manifold examples of political corruption, of leaders who ignore God’s teaching and use their power for themselves. The story of Ahab and Jezebel is just one example. Ahab was King over Israel for twenty-two years. He married Jezebel, a woman who worshipped Baal instead of the one, true God. Ahab’s reign did not glorify God or live up to God’s standard for government. Instead, Ahab “did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the Kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). Ahab desired a vineyard (see 1 Kings 21) next to his palace, and it was owned by Naboth. Ahab tried to purchase the land, but Naboth inherited it from his ancestors and valued it more than whatever Ahab might give him. Ahab, sullen because of the refusal, told Jezebel, who then hatched a scheme to secure the vineyard.
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