Power confuses and concerns me.

Here is the paradox:

• It is hard to do good without it.
• The more power a man attains, the more evil he commits.

In politics we often think: “If only we could get more power we could do more good.” But is this the case?

Three Stories -> One Questions

Can you fix a broken system by taking power from bad men and giving it to good men?

Here are three stories to explore this question.

Lelouch Vi Britannia

Lelouch saw his mother killed and his sister blinded and crippled. He dedicated his life to making the world a just and kind place. He denied himself earthly pleasures and refused to drink the perks of leadership. He received the power to bend others to his will. He went out to destroy evil.

But evil is not a person you can kill. It is an infection that infects even its attackers. Despite his selfless motives, his desire to do good brought a harvest of evil.

The more Lelush fought evil the more evil he became. His goal of justice allowed him to justify unjust acts. The more power he attained the more destruction came to those around him. He is redeemed only through his death.

What can save such a man?

Boromir son of Denethor

Boromir grew up fighting evil. He could see it out his window. He could hear it in his sleep. He was a powerful man, but not strong enough to save his people. He knew they would die unless someone acted.

If not him then who?
If not now then when?

Then he had the opportunity for true power. The One Ring was within his grasp.

The ring used his good intentions to do evil. He lost his relationships with those close to him. As he reached for ultimate power, it destroyed him.

His redemption came only through death.

Absalom son of David

Absalom had everything it took to be a good leader. He had favor, good looks and brilliance. When someone tried to bow to him he would pick them up and give them a hug. But unlike his father, he did not know God.

His father David walked a path of brokenness and suffering that instilled godly character. Absalom walked the easy path of a wealthy prince. He lacked the character needed to temper his ambition.

His lust for power destroyed his relationships and everyone around him. Ultimately he lost his life unredeemed.

The fruit of ambition.

In each of these three stories ambition led to betrayal.

Here is the progression:

1. Longing to do good for others leads to ambition.
2. Ambition leads to a lust for power.
3. Lust for power leads to a love of power.
4. Love for power grows to surpass love for others.
5. Others are betrayed to gain more power.
6. Betrayal breaks relationships.
7. Death

Ambition hurts those closest to you. Can you name a powerful man who’s family is healthy? The difficulty of finding such a man breaks my heart.

The cost of avoiding power.

So should we forsake ambition? What happens when just men avoid power? According to Socrates, they are punished. They are ruled by men lest just than themselves.

Or put another way, evil flourishes when good men avoid power.

The villains of history wanted to make the world a better place.

• Oliver Cromwell wanted to make the world more peaceful & holy by removing Catholicism from Ireland.
  • Millions died through starvation and war.
• Margarete Sanger wanted to create a world where every child was healthy and wanted.
  • Millions died through abortion.
• Adolph Hitler wanted to remove war and disease by eliminating “imperfect” races.
  • Millions died through holocaust and war.
• Joseph Stalin wanted a Utopian paradise by eliminating the class and wealth.
  • Millions died frozen to death in Siberia.
• Pol Pot wanted to create an agrarian paradise where everyone worked the collective land in peace.
  • Millions died from starvation and murder.

A Paradox

• Peace is the justification for war.
• Saving life is the justification to take life.
• Pleasure is the justification for rape.
• Safety is the justification of slavery.
• Equality is the justification of theft.

America has killed perhaps more foreign civilians than any other nation. Our excuse? Saving lives. Why is it right when we do it but wrong when Japan does it?

Does good justify evil before God? Does He judge our actions or our intentions?

Power does not corrupt.

In the book Whist by David Umstattd, Whist asks his mentor Skylock if power corrupts. “Heavens no” Skylock responds “Power only reveals your inner corruption.”

Perhaps Skylock has it right. What if power only magnifies corruption. One of the oldest sayings in the world says, “From evil people come evil deeds.”

Power x Corruption = Evil Committed

An evil man with no power often does less evil than a good man with power.

The only cure for evil.

When God rebooted the world after the flood he only changed one thing: how long people lived. God limited man’s life to 120 years to limit the amount of wickedness man could perform. This heavenly term limit kept the world from going bad as quickly the second time.

We are born innocent, with only the seeds of evil in our hearts. As we grow older these seeds bring forth greater wickedness. Our knowledge, experience and reputation give us power to do evil which makes us evil.

Few ever see this process reverse. Old age may take away our ability to do bad, but who becomes more just? History shows us that even Christian leaders fail to finish well. Is the same is true for us? Do we just lack the spotlight of power to reveal our inner corruption? There will come a day when the light will shine on the strong and weak alike.

I am convinced that this is why people die. Only death can purge us from sin.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

One Last Story

In the movie Blind Side, Leigh Anne Tuohy has power to bend people to her will. But something is different about her, instead of doing evil, she does good.

The difference?

• Motivation: Her motivation is love.
• Safe Power: Her power is inferential. Instead of forcing people to comply she convinces them to choose themselves. I think this is an important difference.

Instead of trying to get more power she does what she can with what she has.

What do you think?

• Do you agree with my analysis?
• Do you think that power corrupts or reveals corruption?
• What should our response be to the problem of power?

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Praying aloud can be scary particularly in a group setting where others can agree or disagree.

Fear in Prayer

Praying out loud can hit the root of our insecurities. We fear man. We fear our own pride. But it is as we pray anyway that we begin to find true healing. What better way to find freedom from the fear of man than in prayer to God.

Remember, if you have turned from your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ you have become a child of God (Romans 8:16, 1 John 3:1-3). This makes talking to God aloud no more strange than talking to a human father. Praying aloud forces us to view God as our Father for how else could we even approach Him?

Viewing God as our Father by no way diminishes his grandeur. Jesus knew the perfect balance when he prayed in this way “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Mathew 6:9b-10

Pride in Prayer

Sometimes people refrain from praying out loud because they don’t want others to think they are proud. This is a poisonous blend of pride and fear. The antidote for this toxin is faith and action.

We don’t want to be the pharisee who prays on the street corner just to be heard by men. But the solution is not to hide in fear. That is the Devil’s solution. The Kingdom path is the path of faith and action.

You won’t overcome this challenge until you start praying out loud. Ask God for humility. Fear God. Focus on Jesus. This takes a mental discipline that you only learn through practice.

What do you think?

• Are you afraid to pray out loud? Why do you think that is?
• For those of you who overcame this fear how did you do it?

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I once saw a sign that read, “Texas proud.” This got me thinking. Can pride ever be a virtue?

Am I proud of our nation? The fact is there are a lot of things about this nation I am not proud of. I don’t like how we have one of the most permissive abortion laws in the world. Even European nations place limitations on second and third term abortions.We are not a perfect nation, we never have been. But, the past centuries have seen their own evils just as vile as the ones we face today.

I have done little to make our nation better. I have no right to be proud nor should I be even if I had contributed even in some small way. The apostle Paul once asked the Corinthians this question, “who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7) I think we Americans can ask ourselves that same question.

Everything we do have has been given to us be God. When I saw that sign I realized that my American pride was a sin. I was robbing God of something that belonged to Him alone. Pride is not a virtue but a sin - a sin that oozes the slime of hatred for God. We need to repent of our American pride and how we look down on those born abroad .

But what about the feelings I have towards this country?

I do feel something. I get goose bumps when I hear Rick Green and David Barton talk about our founding fathers and our godly heritage. I like how free we are (no thanks to the Bush administration or John McCain though). I enjoy our freedom of religion and I savor the fading mist of our freedom of speech even as it fades into memory.

What I feel about this nation and the state of Texas is not pride, not any more. What I feel is thankfulness. What I have as an American I have been given. God endowed us with certain inalienable rights and He rose up men who understood that the just powers of government are not derived through the sword but through the consent of the governed. I thank God for His sovereign intervention to allow our nation to survive these last many years.

I am also thankful to the millions of men who have given their lives to protect our constitution and our lives from enemies abroad. I am thankful for the statesmen who have stood on principle throughout the years to preserve our constitution from her domestic foes. I thank God for sending periodic revivals and great awakenings to keep us following Him. God has blessed us. We have nothing that we have not been given.

No I can’t be proud that I am an American and neither should you. But I thank God that he placed me in this place at this time. I wouldn’t want to be from anywhere else.

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Since we are on the topic of confidence, here is another post from the archive.
The world says, “be self-confident.”
Jesus says, “put your confidence in me.”

The world says, “you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Jesus says, “you can do nothing apart from me and all things through me.”
The world says, “look out for number one.”
The Word says, “think of others as more important than yourself.”
The world says, “believe in yourself.”
Jesus says, “believe in me.”
The world says, “you deserve it.”
The Word says “you deserve hell for breaking God’s law.”
The world says, “trust your feelings.”
Jesus says, “trust in me.”

The world says, “enjoy entertainment.”
Jesus says, “enjoy me.”
The world says, “follow your heart.”
Jesus says, “follow me.”
The world says, “have fun and enjoy your best life now.”
Jesus says, “Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and come follow me.”
The world says, “you’re a good person.”
The Word says, “your heart is deceitfully wicked.”

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As you can see from my last post I am not a big fan of self confidence. So often presenters struggle with fear and so they compensate for their insecurities with self confidence. The Bible has a word for self confidence. The Bible calls it pride. Confidence might make you feel better but it can turn your audience off. Our confidence should be in Jesus Christ alone.

I found these not to long ago and they were so good I wanted to share them with you.

1. Confidence is about you – enthusiasm is about your subject
   As long as you’re focused on ‘being confident’, you are the focus of attention.
2. Confidence is about you (again) – enthusiasm is about others
   when you focus on your audience – whether one person, a roomful or a whole stadium – you stop worrying about your own performance. Instead, your attention is on the audience’s experience
3. Confidence is impressive – enthusiasm is infectious
   Think of a time when you heard someone talk about a subject you had previously no interest in, but they were so enthusiastic about it, you couldn’t help being intrigued, even fascinated. There’s something contagious about the body language of enthusiasm – when you see someone talking excitedly, smiling, gesturing, full of energy and keen to share what they know, you can’t help responding
4. Confidence is certain – enthusiasm is creative
5. Confidence is serious – enthusiasm is fun
   When you start talking or thinking about being confident, you’re likely to start taking things a bit seriously. When you want to be confident about doing something, it’s because you think it’s important.

Mark McGuinness goes into greater detail on each of these points in his blog wishful thinking.

I think reason #5 is why many students debate speeches are less interesting than their persuasive speeches. They are less enthusiastic about the topic.

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I am going to start reposting achieved posts from my old blog on the first of each month.

The enemy thinks he can purify pride with Disney films and encouraging posters. Motivational books tell people they need more self-esteem in order to succeed. Many say, “If we only thought higher of ourselves we could accomplish more.” Just “believe in yourself” the cartoons say.

Yet, throughout the Bible God shows the dangers of pride:

• “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Pro. 11:2)
• “Pride leads to arguments; those who take advice are wise” (Pro. 13:10)
• “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Pro. 16:18)
• “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor” (Pro. 29:23)

Successful people are confident, however. People, who look at the ground, talk softly and never take risks rarely change the world. The question is, “from where should our confidence come?” God actively looks for humble hearts, for He knows that nothing can stop those who place their trust in Him alone. Confidence is crucial for success, but only trust in Christ is of any use for the Kingdom.

Look at:

• Joseph – the jailbird
• Moses – the mumbler
• Gideon – the coward
• King David – the forgotten shepherd son
• Daniel – the slave
• Esther – the peasant girl
• Peter – the foot eater

These people had little confidence in themselves, but they changed the world. The enemy comes against the work of God by tricking us into believing in ourselves instead of in Jesus.

Look at the tower of Babble or the rich man who died in his sleep. These people had plenty of self-esteem. Nebuchadnezzar accomplished great acts; but when he got cocky, he ate grass like a cow.

The world needs you about as much as it needs another grain of sand at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. What it needs is Jesus. To the extent we allow Christ to shine through us is the extent in which we are able to change the world for Him. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

If Jesus said that he did nothing on his own (John 8:28), why do we think we can live differently? Jesus had no self-esteem in the way we think of it today. While Jesus was “in very nature God, [He] did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” (Phil. 2:6)

Take for example Romo the self-confident quarterback. His football talent and winning streak lead him to believe that he is a great player.

But, what if Romo misses a crucial throw causing a crushing defeat in a big game? Joe’s confidence drops as his failure grows. But, if he put his confidence in something or someone bigger then he will not be so easily shaken.

When we put our confidence in Christ then we can count it all joy when we fail because we know that Jesus will be glorified despite our best efforts. He won’t have to blame others for our failures as “self esteemers” often do. We can instead take the blame and then take the failure to Christ.

The world comes against Christians, tempting us to put on the tough skin of arrogance. This hardening of our hearts is just what the Bible speaks against. Pharoh’s hardened heart caused great pain for Egypt and the hard hearts of the Israelites caused continual judgment.

He who esteems himself is his own god.
He who esteems Jesus fulfills his purpose.

We can put our confidence in Jesus because He earned it on the cross. God may not use as many posters and movies as the world, but His truth is as good now as it was for King David who said, “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

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