A Dog's Eye: absolute power

Google 'quotes about power' and there is one which is sure to appear on every list. Attributed to the nineteenth century Catholic historian, politician and writer, Lord Acton, it is often not quoted in full. He used these words of warning in a letter written to an Anglican Archbishop in 1887. These words became more poignant when Stalin, Hitler and other leaders of their ilk came to power.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men even when they exercise influence and not authority."

I discovered the context of this quote while reading Geoffrey Blainey's brilliant A Short History of the 20th Century  When writing about the mass colonial liberation movement post World War 2, Blainey quotes John Kenneth Galbraith who said "all of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common; it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of the people in their time."

This is not a comment on whether the leaders were or have been effective or not. Nor is it a judgment on their morality or lack thereof. It got me thinking though about leadership. In the 21st century, there seems to be a dearth of real leaders in our world. People are extremely critical, almost hysterically so, of Australia's Prime Minister, the British PM and the US President, just to name a few. I hear many people say we need real leaders, but I'm not sure I know what they mean or indeed, if they know what they mean.

I've been reading the books of Kings and Chronicles in which David, the second king of Israel features prominently. Interestingly, Chronicles has essentially the same content as Kings, but is written in a much more positive light (leaving out the story of David and Bathsheba, for example). I noticed in it some little things David did which showed leadership of a different kind.

Aside from wisdom, intelligence, strength and charisma, I

discovered in David's life some lesser known and often less valued attributes. Grace (mercy), humility and justice. (1 Chronicles 19:5, 21:17 & 21:24). I was reminded of the words of arguably the greatest leader of all time, Jesus Christ. Speaking to his disciples who were arguing about greatness in God's kingdom, Jesus, who is known as the Servant King, said;

"The rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, exercising authority. With you, it must not be so. Those among you who want to be great must be the servant of the others." (Matthew 20:26)

What is your idea of a great leader?

The Need for God

There are numerous misconceptions about Christianity which are held to with religious fervour by members of society. One popular view sees Christianity as a set of restrictive rules and regulations presided over by a cosmic killjoy. In another, a person says they are a Christian because they try to do what is right, and not hurt people. Both of these views should be completely rejected as false by Christians.

Recently I heard a new and interesting theory on what constitutes religion. This young lady, a lapsed Roman Catholic, said to me she believed she was religious, or even Christian in her case, because she sinned and religion depends on sin. She reasoned that if she was not committing any sin, she would have no need to confess and therefore no need of religion.

I told her that I believe religion is based on need and to suit my purpose here, I am referring to both good and bad religion (Jesus talked quite clearly about both). Men have always looked to something or someone bigger and more powerful than themselves for answers, for meaning and direction in their lives. Honest men have always felt and still do feel, overwhelmed at times by the the enormity and complexity of the world around them, and the various problems which have faced them.

Only when a person hits rock bottom, when everything else they have is stripped of value, when they feel lost and realize their desperate need for salvation, will they look up and see their Saviour: Jesus Christ.

I'm not telling you that you have to become a Christian, even though I would like you to, but I am asking you to accept the facts about Christianity. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Christianity is about God's plan to fix this messed up world which is full of broken people. Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him. Christianity is about God reaching out to us and saving us from our pride fuelled self destruction. Christianity is all about Jesus Christ and everyone needs a saviour.

The Power of Humanity

I love how people ascribe greatness to human accomplishment; giving all the credit to mankind without so much as a tip of their collective hats to God. There is a phrase which always makes me cringe: triumph of the human spirit.

What keeps a person alive in a desperate situation? Is it determination? Physical strength? The power of humanity? No. It's hope. Where does hope come from? Circumstances? Positive thinking? The triumphant human spirit? Think again.

What makes people confident enough to share the road with other motorists, tens of thousands of complete strangers? Faith in other people that they will obey the road rules and drive safely, and faith that cars will do what they are supposed to do. Would people bungee jump without faith in the strength of the elastic cord? Does faith come from positive thinking?

What is it that makes people sacrifice themselves for others? Their time, their money, their very lives? Love. Is unconditional and sacrificial love a human quality? Does it emanate from within the almighty human spirit? Is it yet another accidental by- product of evolution?

What is the origin of these three life sustaining immortals: hope, faith and love? The motto of the Australian Red Cross is 'the Power of Humanity' but I don't think humanity is all it's cracked up to be. All goodness originates with God because God is good. All love begins and ends with God because God is love. On what grounds then can we boast of triumphs of the human spirit? We can help people, even save a few but we can't save everyone. We can heal people of diseases but in the end they'll still die. 'We spend all of our lives going out of our minds, looking back to our births, forward to our demise.'(They Stood Up for Love by Live)Desperately clinging to life because we know we cannot avoid death. Pretending we are the masters of our own destinies.There is no life without faith, hope and love and these three come from God. Therefore there is no life without God.

Humanity is not powerful. It is weak and foolish. Paul says that the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom , and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)