The fear of
change can make people strike out at others with terrible consequences for relationships
in communities, in businesses, in families, and in churches. The fear of being
surpassed brings about the same response in many people. Society is filled with
individuals who will do nearly anything to hold fast to the status quo while
others may take the same measures to get or remain on top. The need to exercise
power is a dangerous thing.
Power can be
like wealth itself which is nothing more than a source of power. In and of
itself power is neither positive nor negative. Its morality is determined by
how it is used. Even the ability to resist temptation, to refrain from disobedience,
is an exercise of power, one we all should use more often.
When Jesus
was confronted by his disciples with a blatant request for power, he responded
with one of his clearest statements on the place of servanthood in the life of
one of his followers. Power was to be used to serve, never to dominate.
Mar 10:42-45
So Jesus called them all together to him and said, "You know that those
who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders
have complete authority. This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one
of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of
you wants to be first, you must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many
people."
Self
–serving power plays have no place in the kingdom of God or in the life of a
Christian. They may temporarily exalt one individual over another. The end
result is most often a reversal of situations, and the one who sought power and
the control that goes with it finds someone who will not tolerate such action.
At the least there is subtle embarrassment and humiliation. At worst there are
wars of rebellion and revenge. At best there is a humble correction of ways. In
the most terrible scenarios, those in subjection rise up and bring about
drastic destruction to their former oppressors.
Jesus
condemned all such use of power. For him the greatest power was revealed in
servanthood. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the representative of a
despised people dared to assist under dangerous circumstances one who would otherwise
might have refused to acknowledge the Samaritan’s existence. Jesus dared to
touch and heal lepers, the most unclean people of all. In the act of washing
the feet of his disciples, he took the place of the lowest slave of a
household.
Power plays
destroy relationships. They destroy individuals. They destroy futures. In the
local church people use power when they feel their positions of authority are
being threatened. They can stoop to using the weapons of Satan to protect their
rights. The opposite extreme is when an individual or group is so set upon
gaining what they want through change, they disregard the personhood of the
people they are seeking to remove from their chosen path.
In both
these cases the glory of God is ignored. The pattern of Christ is rejected. The
sin of Adam and Eve is repeated. They take the fruit from the tree for they believe
that will remove their need for God. They will become gods themselves and can
determine their own fate.
Jesus used
his own mission as the example he wanted his disciples to follow. His show of
power was in his constraint when faced with the cross. He had the power and
authority to call upon the protection of 72,000 angels. Instead he chose
obedience to his heavenly Father that resulted in crucifixion on a Roman cross.
From his refusal to use such power came his power to offer salvation to all who
believe in him. Servanthood offers the path to eternal life.
