"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - Lord Acton
This is not a very optimistic view of power, or of people for that matter. But the question remains: What is the purpose of power and how is it to be used? Our initial response may be that this is a question for others, thinking that we have no power. But nearly everyone has some power over someone, whether they are the CEO of some failing corporation or a stay-at-home mom. Hopefully we can arrive at some higher prospect for mankind than expressed by Lord Acton’s conclusion that power turns most of us into bad people.
As a starting point we should consider the only one who actually has absolute power – God. How does he use his power? What seems to be the motivation directing how he uses it? The interesting thing is that he gives it away. While he could easily control us all, instead he empowers us to have self-control. In contrast to Lord Acton’s evaluation, God believes we can rise to something better than our current selves and therefore empowers us for the task. Furthermore, God is not the least bit afraid that if he gives his power away to empower us he will be diminished by that action.
The contrast is clear to us by our life experiences, as obviously were Lord Acton’s, that power can also be used to enslave rather than to empower. It would be foolish of us to deny that the pull towards misusing power is strong, but we must also admit that to enslave is a misuse of power, whether in our lives or those of our leaders.
We are presented with a very clear example of this misuse right now. Consider this question: Are President Obama’s bailouts empowering companies or bringing them under the government’s control? The argument cannot be about the pragmatic need for control. It must remain at the core level of the appropriate or inappropriate use of power. Another old saying is that the end does not justify the means. Any misuse of power will always lead to enslavement and is never justified. People convincing themselves that it is somehow okay this one time is what leads to powerful people becoming bad people.
Now, don’t just dismiss this as applying to “those guys in Washington” or the corporate executives who want bonuses for failing. This applies to every mom and dad, to every husband, to every employer, to every pastor, ad infinitum….
Principle Based Evaluation: We need to turn, or return, to the understanding that power is given to empower others. Any use of power that bends that truth even slightly is going to lead us to Lord Acton’s eventual pessimism – power is to be mistrusted because it is always wielded by bad men! Not so of God. Hopefully not so of those who choose to learn from him.
For more information on the author, Gary Cake, go to: http://www.mtwm.org/
MacKenna Unger
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With Great Power.... To quote one of America's favorite superheroes, Spiderman, "With great power, comes great responsibility." Ignoring the play on words, power is so powerful! Despite what Lord Acton says, power can be good, we just have to make sure we do not abuse it. And when one is given a place of power, whether in an everyday job or a member of government, we must be aware of how much power we have and make sure we are using it appropriately. Daily we must be called up to the responsibility we have been given by power. |
