Who else among the gods is like you, O Lord? who is … like you—so awesome in splendor, performing such wonders? Exodus 15:11
Most of us have been in the presence of the powerful at one time or another. Whether the power is that of wealth or spiritual influence or political will, we know it when we see it.
When I was eleven years old, I went with a Salvation Army officer to a luncheon with Billy Graham. I have a press photo of me, a nerdy kid with glasses, shaking hands with the man who has preached the gospel to more people than anyone else in history.
When I was thirteen, I attended the church where then-governor Ronald Reagan occasionally worshiped. You could tell the Sundays he was there: A cadre of bodyguards spaced themselves throughout the sanctuary. In their black suits and earphones they stood out from the casually dressed California worshipers like crows in a flock of seagulls.
When I was twenty-one and a student in Paris, my brother and I went to the Champs-ElysÉes one bright June day to watch Pope John Paul II pass by. Newspapers reported that a million people lined the boulevard to catch a glimpse of the pope as he waved to the people.
Persons of great power might seem like abstractions. Their influence is far beyond what most of us can imagine. And what of those who abuse power? The litany of their names is imprinted upon our minds, from crooked politicians to self-serving stars to the tyrants of history.
The Bible has much to say about the mighty and the influential, about those who exercise authority or dominion. The bottom line: They are accountable to God.
God, who alone is omnipotent, gives those of vast influence their power as a trust from him. The defining experience of Israel was the exodus from Egypt, a great expression of God’s power in the face of abusive human power. Since Pharaoh did not use his power to protect the people in his care, he came face-to-face with God’s judgment. The manifestation of God’s power contrasts starkly with the power hungry and the ambitious. God uses his strength not to oppress but to liberate, not to abuse but to save.
That’s a lesson for us ordinary people as well. In contrast to seeking our own acclaim or privilege, God invites us to use any influence we have, whether impressive or not, to serve others in the name of the One who holds all power and authority.
Randal C. Working
Reflection
How do I covet power, and how can I use whatever power I have to serve others for Jesus’ sake?
Prayer
Father, thank you that your same power that created the universe expressed itself in self-giving love on the cross.
“The only cure for the love of power is the power of love.”
—Sherri McAdam
Leadership DevotionsCopyright Tyndale House Publishers.Used by permission.
