I occasionally stumble across a word or phrase once popular that fell out of common usage. One such word – rodomontade (rah-duh-mon-tade) – seems ripe for resurrection. It means “vainglorious boasting or bragging, pretentious, and/or blustering talk.” Its origin began with a pompous French king, Rodomonte, who ignored reality to continuously crow about his amazing accomplishments and incredible achievements. History soon disproved almost everything this egotistical king proclaimed, and in his honor, the term rodomontade was coined.

In our social media, Tik Tok obsessed culture, we need a concept like rodomontade more than ever. The only people who have to continuously say “look at me” and list their own successes are those that no one else recognizes. It is one thing for others to lavish praise on the accomplishments of a leader or a true influencer, it is something quite different when a leader/influencer wastes most of their precious time praising self and surrounding self with shameless and craven sycophants.

Our Christian faith tradition teaches a very simple truth: those who focus always on themselves have no capacity to focus on others. Our current culture is being severely and significantly impacted by loud voices decrying such fundamental Christian values as empathy, mercy, compassion, equity, unity, inclusion, and justice. These voices come from minds and souls of individuals that feel they are superior in every way to the most vulnerable, most marginalized, most fragile, and most at risk persons they are supposed to support. I remember listening to two United Methodist bishops a few years ago who were working constantly to split, divide, and disaffiliate the church, who proclaimed that the Christian scriptures did not call us to unity, to harmony, to reconciliation, and to wholeness, then had the audacity to lead a communion liturgy that clearly asks of God, “By the power of your Holy Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.” These men had no concern for the damage done to the institution of the church or the trauma in the hearts and minds of faithful Christian disciples; all they cared about was wresting power into their own hands and redefining God’s will in their own image.

What is the impact of rodomontade on our ability to trust? We all know that braggarts rarely if ever add value, and any value they might produce will only benefit themselves. The heart of sin is not evil but selfishness. When we displace God in Christ from the core of our living with self, we distance ourselves from any possible benefit of God’s grace. It isn’t that God recalls said grace; it is simply that selfish people value God’s grace so poorly. When a leader disdains grace, mercy, empathy, and compassion, they are left with absolutely nothing of value to extend to anyone else. The very people they pledge to serve go hungry, lose safety and security, struggle to make ends meet, and sink into a mire of anxiety about health and well-being. Trust dies a tragic death when our leaders celebrate their own successes as all around them are doomed to fail.

The more we spend of our time, energy, resources, money, attention, and control on selfish gain, the less good we can do in the world. We watch as false prophets promote false profits, promised to all but reserved for the few. We as the body of Christ are called to be generous, to be kind, to be giving, to care for neighbor like we care for family. Any organization, institution, government, or tribe who promotes anything else is the antithesis of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is really only one solution to rodomontade and that is a humility grounded in servanthood. Until we commit to a common good for all God’s children the rodomontades will continue to run roughshod over all. It is time for those who love God to demand truth, honesty, and integrity once again, and to stop tolerating the rodomontools who think so highly of themselves.