Alpha
If there’s one thing this world loves, it’s a strong man. The older I get as a woman, the more I appreciate this foundational fact. The more I attempt to grow as a sturdy, influential woman in my own right, the more apparent this becomes. Few things rival the drawing power of a charismatic trailblazer, a passionate advocate, an outstanding athlete or brainy innovator, especially if he's male. Everybody loves a winner, especially if their particular intellectual or physical strength is paired with good looks, money or social wallop.
When you think back to the Garden of Eden, this phenomenon makes perfect sense. Adam and God roved paradise together, naming the creatures and simply exploring the breadth of this tender new creation. Adam was the quintessential ‘Alpha Male’; therefore, all creation still waits for one to manifest in any given situation. Before and after the Fall, it is the default position.
The term “Alpha” or more especially, “Alpha Male” is thrown around quite frequently, (and with woeful inaccuracy) these days. It seems everyone on the internet is trying to sell you on the fact they are the Alpha, whether as a select business attraction or as a romantic preferential. This is the age of narcissism, rampant with vanity; almost everyone attempting to seize the spotlight and produce their 15 minutes of branded fame. But just because you’re bold, arrogant, condescending, outspoken, demanding, impudent, or supercilious, it doesn’t automatically qualify you for Alpha. Not even close.
A textbook definition may cast better light on the subject. “Alpha” is the first letter of the Greek Alphabet, connoting what is first, at the beginning, highest in rank or the most important. The Oxford Dictionary defines Alpha as 1) the first (brightest) star of a constellation; 2) The dominant animal or human in a particular group or, 3) the one having the dominant role within a particular sphere or organization. I once heard, and never forgot, an unusual definition from a team-leader of the Iditarod race, concerning how he knew a certain dog could be the Alpha Male for the head of the pack: “He’s the dog that always wants to run where the snow isn’t broken”. From a worldly perspective, the Alpha is someone within a group that people gravitate towards and defer to as a natural leader, because of intellectual superiority, influential gravitas, creative giftings, social savvy or charismatic communication. Whatever the reason, this marked forerunner usually emerges and dictates the environment.
On a lesser scale, a strong man may not be an actual Alpha, but the residual echo is there. I’m always flabbergasted at how much mistreatment people will take simply to have authority over them they feel is capable. It’s an indicator of our craving for security - that we would put up with the most savage, atrocious behavior, simply because someone is able to seize the reins successfully. It certainly explains the power of cults, and current political climates! It casts light on why men in power get away with decades of sexual exploitation. I’ve watched women stay in the most demeaningly cruel and violent of relationships because the alternative was too frightening to contemplate. Business hierarchies have succored absolute snake-oil salesmen at their helm; rendered impotent at the thought of what might happen if he were exposed. I’ve watched Churches led by the nose, helpless, as some covetous power-monger controlled all and sundry with charm of a charlatan. I’m still scratching my head over it all. For most, it would seem a strong man, even a brutal one, is better than no man at all. So insatiable is our craving for a father figure, that we will put up with almost anything, in order to get even the palest phantom of one. What an unspeakably sad statement of affairs.
We find ourselves in this desperate plight for one reason and one reason only. We don’t understand that Jesus is Alpha and Omega. If we grasped that, we would know we don’t have to put up with all this inhumane crap. Ever. Recently, my mind has become riveted on a statement Jesus makes about Himself, in the last chapters of the Book. No less than four times, (Revelation 1:8, 11, 21:6, 22:13) He makes this statement with varying corollaries:
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Revelation 22:13 KJV
Four times. Four. If someone repeats a statement like this, they’re trying to tell you something significant. What are we missing? Perhaps, it’s best summed up in Matthew 28:16-20.
And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Alpha is all about power, and the right to implement authority. Jesus is Alpha when you give Him His rightful place in your life; when His authority becomes your reality. Alpha is on the throne when He rules your ego, when you let Him tear down every fabricated idol of imagination or ambition, every molten image of your own conceit; when he inhabits the high places of what you worship. When Jesus is Alpha, He dominates every decision you make; He orders every battle you engage. Alpha is your strength and shield: the pericardium of your heart, safe-guarding you from all manner of onslaught, beguilement, or self- deception. When Jesus is Alpha, your territory is ruled by peace and righteousness. There is power to decide and decree, to enforce and uproot, to kill and to heal. He breaks the tyrant-masters: you will never be a slave or a concubine again. Day by day, decision by decision, you become
“A king and priest to your God” Revelation 5:10
When Jesus is Alpha, watch your world transform.
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