EPISODE 5: The Original Corporate Psychopath
Disclaimer – this podcast does not contain any advice for mental health concerns. If you have mental health concerns contact your GP and seek their advice. Know that I am praying for your healing.
You’re listening to The Chaise Lounge Theologian, a podcast which explores a systematic theology of mental health. In this episode, entitled ‘The Original Corporate Psychopath’, I’ll be exploring the opening section of Genesis chapter 3, a pivotal chapter in the Bible and for humanity itself. Here in God’s good creation and paradise, the Garden of Eden becomes overrun by mind games, deceit and outright lies as the serpent comes onto the scene. The serpent who represents the devil. I think the devil and the devil’s psychology is much misunderstood in modern Western society, so I’m going to spend a bit of time exploring that in this episode.
In terms of our systematic theology tools to help us understand the Bible, we have first of all, context and genre. Contextually, we are still in the opening pages of the Bible. The entire world, the plants and animals have been created, as have Adam and Eve who live in the Garden of Eden. Everything has now been set in play. In terms of the genre therefore, this is not a creation narrative, but it’s not too far off from that. It’s like the adopted cousin.
In terms of narrative structure, we’re about to get a series of events heavily leaning on dialogue. And within that series of events, a complication is about to be introduced. And as far as complications go, this is no pebble or rock style complication in the narrative – thank you, primary school teachers – this is the biggest boulder complication that the world has ever seen. It is in fact the complication of the entire biblical narrative, about to come into play.
I said in a previous episode that the general narrative structure of the Bible is that it is a non-fiction narrative of redemption. In Genesis 3, we begin to see why this is so.
And one of the major reasons for that is due to another literary convention, namely characterisation. In chapter 3 we are introduced to a new character in the story: the serpent AKA a talking snake.
Now whether it was actually a talking snake or not, is rather beside the point. Considering the genre of the story, it is quite possible that the entire thing is symbolic. Personally, I’m not really fussed about whether it is or it isn’t.
Also, considering the context of the text, being that it is still right at the start of the world, there is the high chance that things were different then. In fact, it seems that this indeed was the case when we read in Genesis 3:8 that the LORD God was walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day. God was walking in the garden. Get your head around that. If God is walking on the earth in those early days of its existence, then I’ve got no issues with there being a snake that talks. There is a mystical quality to the Garden of Eden that we need not do away with, I believe.
Here’s how Genesis chapter 3 starts:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
If you’re looking for an example of a corporate psychopath, look no further than the serpent, who represents the devil – the biblical antagonist, and much more. To describe Satan as a corporate psychopath, might be a new take, but one that I evidently think is worthwhile.
Clive Boddy, a Professor of Leadership and Organisation Behaviour at Middlesex University in the UK, believes that the definition of a psychopath is “much broader than initially thought, and suggests that… the ‘corporate psychopath’, can be found leading corporations and maintaining influential political roles”. These are people who he describes as having “unusual cunning and manipulative abilities” and are “generally charming, sociable, initially friendly and even seductive towards those who assist them in achieving their goal or meeting their agenda[1].”
What’s that got to do with Satan, you might say. Well, Satan has one goal and one goal only: to bring down with him as many as he can. He is doomed already, so he will throw under the bus anyone else he can while he’s still got the time.
As far as this planet goes, he decided to choose Eve first.
And in true corporate psychopath form he chose to play some bullying mind games:
He starts with a half-truth “Did God really say – ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” No, God didn’t say that at all. But the best lies always have an element of truth in them. It makes them more believable and, also, easier to deliver.
It also, potentially had the intended effect, because Eve’s response is actually incorrect. She says to the serpent: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Did he? Did God say that? When Satan said to Eve “Did God really say – ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” She should have answered, ‘No’. Because God didn’t say that at all.
God gave them every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. He just restricted them from eating from one tree and one tree alone. So Satan takes this one, tiny restriction, and magnifies it exponentially. To the point of absurdity, really.
And Eve focuses in on the law, not on God’s abundant grace and consequently, her view of God becomes skewed; which is exactly what the serpent was aiming to do. Eve makes more rules.
Meanwhile, the serpent takes away all consequences. “You will not surely die” the serpent claims, casting God as a liar, when in reality it is the serpent who lies. ‘God is hiding something from you’, the serpent claims, ‘there is even more restriction here that you thought. God has told you not to do something because “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”’
The corporate psychopath has their target in sight and is playing his game on her.
But why pick Eve and not Adam as the target? There could be a number of reasons, but in my opinion there is something that is inherent in the nature of every woman that Satan is capitalising on here.
A desire to be seen.
Where was Adam at this time that the conversation was occurring between Eve and the serpent? We don’t know. The text doesn’t say. Perhaps there were a few hundred insects he was yet to name and he was working his way through various species of butterflies. Maybe Eve had come to the part of Eden she was in, in order to dig up some ground and do some repotting, so to speak. We don’t know.
We just know that Adam and Eve appear to be separated from each other and the serpent uses that as an opportunity to strike. Eve wanted to be seen and the serpent saw her alone. The serpent saw her vulnerable.
A typical bullying tactic. The bully is too insecure to operate in any other way. Isolate people from one another to make them vulnerable. And only attack the vulnerable because that’s all their fragile ego can handle.
If we think that Satan is strong, think again. Satan is evil but weak. He fights, yes, but out of fear. Just like a bully. God’s people may fight as well, just as one might fight back against a bully. But they do not fight like the insecure bully. God’s people and those that stand up to bullies fight a righteous fight. Those who fight against bullies do so with strong identity firmness and identity importance, such as what I spoke about in previous episodes.
How do Christians fight back against bullies? They also fight with strong identity firmness and identity importance, knowing who they are as a child of God and that it is actually God who fights on their behalf. And they recognise what – or who – is behind it all, the evil one. And – here’s some biblical theology for you – ultimately, God always wins.
This is the directive the apostle, Paul gives in the New Testament as to how believers should stand up against the ultimate bully, Satan. Here’s what he writes:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Let me return to a short discussion of corporate psychopaths before moving on further. The prevalence of such individuals, according to Professor Boddy, is about 1% of the population. The outworking of their condition, he believes can differ depending on their background, with more disadvantaged individuals moving towards criminal psychopathy, which leads to incarceration. However, those from more privileged or educated backgrounds will often be found in workplace positions that give them what they desire: power, control and success.
The professor elaborates: “Positions such as CEO and in corporate banking or finance would theoretically be especially attractive to them, whereas the lower paid ‘caring professions’ would hold less interest to them[2]”.
There’s no power and success in teaching and don’t they know it. And very few teenagers will care about your manipulative charisma and flair as well. Trust me. Such a Machiavellian narcissist is in desperate need of more attention than that. Trade in teaching for the tax office instead where you think you can get the attention you so desperately crave.
A desire to be seen.
“…you will be like God…”
You will be seen. You will be even more than seen. You will have power and control and you will balance out the scales. You will be on par with God.
You’ve got problems with God and how restrictive he’s been, well, join me says the corporate psychopath and God won’t be able to stop you gaining the freedom and glory you so eagerly desire.
I try not to talk about Freud in these podcasts, really I do. I think I’ve only managed one without him so far. But again this little interaction is a total appeal to Eve’s ‘id’ – the pleasure principle. A total appeal to all her desires for power and influence.
Here’s a lengthy quote from the theologian and Emeritus Professor, Don Carson to provide further explanation of Eve and the serpent’s interaction, beyond that of Freud’s:
“What promises to be an illuminating grasp of good and evil with a knowledge akin to gods turns out on closer inspection not to be the objective knowledge of an omniscient god who knows not only what has been, what is, and what will be, but even what might have been under different circumstances… what philosophers call middle knowledge.
It turns out instead to be the knowledge of participation in that which is rebellion. And all this promised in fact out of the incentive to become like God, to be as God, to achieve godhood. In fact, in part, by outwitting him. That’s always an intoxicating program… the temptation, whatever the physical reality, was an invitation to move in to an experience that would illuminate God and evil experientially. It was an invitation not simply to break a rule but to engage in revolution…It’s more than a mere defiance with respect to a particular rule. Now I want to be the centre of the universe[3].”
That’s the core desire of sin. To rule the world for ourselves. To ignore the creator God and His rule and creative design and to set ourselves up as little kings and queens over everything and do things our own way.
Sin at its heart sounds like it’s all about the self, ignoring God. Sin at its heart sound narcissistic.
So when is sin, sin and when is it a disorder? How do we know?
Short answer: when a forensic psychologist makes an assessment.
A more lengthy answer first identifies the fact that the Bible is not backwards about coming forwards to label sin for what it is; the Bible doesn’t pull any punches on this one. Sin when it is controlled, pre-meditated and deliberate is exactly that, it is sin. And the human that committed the sin is responsible.
Along with Eve, we cannot say, ‘The devil made me do it’.
We as humans, have been given the intellect to reason for ourselves and make choices. We are not Pavlov’s dogs in some sort of stimulus response loop. We can break the chain. We can choose otherwise. We can choose to not sin.
Neither is there any explaining away of it because of your upbringing, or the trauma that you experienced or the bad day that you’ve been having. No. Sin is sin.
We don’t need to be conditioned to sin. We are born into this world in a sinful condition. We don’t need to be nurtured into sin. It is in our very nature.
One day, when I actually do buy myself a chaise lounge, do not come and lie down on it and get all Freudian on me and blame your parents. What you did to that person, the way you sinned against him or her, it’s not mummy or daddy’s fault. It’s your fault.
We are responsible for our own sin.
I am responsible for my sin. And you are responsible for yours.
Just as both Adam and Eve were responsible for theirs. As it continues on in Genesis:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Adam and Eve both did what God told them not to do. This is called sin. And despite what the serpent said, sin does have consequences. Initially, this leads to three immediate consequences: a realisation of their nakedness, the sewing of fig leaves and the need for a cover up.
First, Nakedness. Adam and Eve were naked in chapter 2 but they had no shame. But now, having done what God told them not to do, their entire perception of themselves, the world around them and each other shifts. They are no longer like little children running around naked without a care. That naivety is now gone. They now have a realisation of their exposure and they are no longer OK with being completely exposed with each other. The level of intimacy that they originally had, problem free, now brings humiliation. Where there was initially no anxiety, they now need to find a way to deal with their anxiety.
Second, Adam and Eve suddenly start to sew. They get some fig leaves and sew them together. Now as much as I like sewing, and I do, this is work that Adam and Eve shouldn’t have needed to do. Adam had been put in the garden ‘to work it and take care of it’ (Genesis 2:15). There was no mention of the need to sew. And fig leaves too. I read recently that despite the stereotypical thought that Eve ate an apple, it was potentially actually a fig that she ate. It was a decent argument that they made, but not one I’m going to elaborate on here. At any rate, if that was the case, it brings in an added sense of our work now being tied to our rebellion. A sense that now, thanks to Adam and Eve and a corporate psychopath, a whole bunch of work that should be unnecessary in our lives is now required. Such is the nature of the world we now live in. If nothing else, what an exhausting and frustrating waste of time.
This leads to the third immediate consequence of Adam and Eve: covering up. They looked at themselves and they did not like what they saw. So they had to hide it away. They could no longer be completely open with each other. From now on, to some extent their interactions with each other would be masked. There would always be a level of duplicity.
And when the evil one has impacted the way things operate, this is actually no surprise. By refusing to obey God’s instructions, Adam and Eve set themselves up as servants of the devil, doing his bidding.
About this type of behaviour, the apostle Paul wrote:
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Yes, despite what the serpent said, there are consequences for behaviours chosen.
And despite modern depictions, hopefully this episode is making clear, that Satan is not your friend who you sit with and have a smirk and giggle. Hell is not where you’ll have a laugh with your mates. No Satan is a corporate psychopath out to get you and bring you down. Satan promises the world, but what he promises disappears in an instant in a puff of smoke. God gives us the actual whole world, but Satan has nothing to give us, except lies. Do not think that Satan has your back, because Satan has nothing. The evil one is on a highway to hell and will throw you under the bus in an instant if it serves his purpose, which it does. For you have nothing to offer him either. Satan is a corporate psychopath and you are just a pawn in his game. Easily and quickly discarded. Satan will not bail you out because he doesn’t have the power to do so. And even if he did, he doesn’t have any inclination to assist. All Satan will do is take you down with him.
So don’t fall for it like Eve did. Don’t turn your back on God. Because if you do, like Adam and Eve, all that’s left for you, is to be running scared. But that’s for my next episode.
In this episode we’ve seen that even though God had given Adam and Eve everything they desired in his good and beautiful creation, they instead, foolishly, chose to be pawns in the game of the evil one. They chose to sin.
As a result, into their lives entered personal exposure, humiliation, decreased marital intimacy, a frustrating day at the office, interpersonal tensions and dealing with people who are two-faced.
Sounds like they needed a psychologist.
But God actually offers something far better than a therapy session. He offers himself.
Of course, a therapy session can do you a world of good. But God offers us assistance both for this world and for the world to come.
So until next time, keep looking up – to God.
Podcast Backing Track: “Pure” by Matt Wigdon. Licence purchased from Soundstripe
[1] https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/corporatepsychopaths/
[2] https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/corporatepsychopaths/
[3] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/sermon/part-1-the-temptation-of-adam-and-eve-genesis-3/