Power is not bad
The English work “power” comes from the Latin word “posse,” which became “poeir” in french, and then “power” in English. The word means to “be able.” It’s the ability, whether physical, mental, moral or spiritual, to act. The word “power” gets a bad wrap The first thing that comes to mind for most people is Lord Acton’s quote, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That’s not even what he said. A very important word got left out. The proper quote is, “Power TENDS to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The corruption of power is not in power, but in ourselves.
Power is the very essence, the dynamo of life. It is the power of the heart pumping blood and sustaining life in the body. Power is the organizing energy of human beings, pulsing upward, providing a unified strength for a common purpose and vision. Power is an essential life force always in operation, either changing the world or opposing change.
The power of the human mind can create humankind’s most glorious
achievements, and develop perspectives and insights into the nature of
life-opening horizons previously beyond the imagination. The power of the human mind can also devise philosophies and ways of life that threaten and destroy the future of humankind. Either way, power is the dynamo of life.
There has been a long and unwavering campaign, separating people from their power. There is a false narrative about power that it is bad and evil. The word power evokes images of cruelty, dishonesty, selfishness, arrogance, injustice and dictatorship. The word power is associated with conflict; it is unacceptable in our Madison Avenue synthetic culture where controversy is blasphemous and the value is being liked and not offending others. Power, in our minds, has become almost synonymous with corruption and immorality.
Religion often scares people away from the idea of power. For starters, we are told we are fundamentally bad, which means it is inevitable that we will abuse power. We are also told that we do not have the power to direct our lives and change the world, which is the rationale for appealing to “God” who is seen as “all-powerful.” Religion perpetuates a false and sabotaging dualism: God is good, we are bad; God is powerful, we are helpless; God is perfect, we are inadequate and lacking. The idea of a person “lifting themselves up by their own bootstraps” is viewed as carnal because we are told we are supposed to be relying and depending on “God” and not ourselves.
We are going to have to reopen and rethink the whole concept of “power.” We must establish a new relationship to this most basic and essential nucleus of our lives. We are going to have to rediscover, reclaim, and begin to operate in the full reality and potential of our power. This was a central teaching of Jesus. Jesus said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen God.” In other words, because God and humankind are not separated but one, what is true of “God” is present and alive in Jesus… and in each of us. What made Jesus different was the fact that he knew, claimed, and operated within this reality.
We know very little about the growth and development of Jesus before he appears on the scene as an adult. But the picture we have of him at this point is a human being who is full possession of both his humanity and his divinity. This is now our journey to take – being human and divine. With respect to “power,” the divine aspect is accepting power as the truth of who we are. The human part is harnessing, using, and expressing that power to change and create our world.
