Do Not Be Obsessed With Power
Prophet Samuel proved himself as a godly leader of Israel. He had served well, and he was not afraid to ask people to review his record. He called the elders of Israel and said,
“Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.” And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.” Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness” (1 Samuel 12:3-5).
Lesson:
Many people are intoxicated with power, and they have abused their positions. In fact, it is now popularly accepted that “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Meanwhile, children of God must not be obsessed with power. We must not abuse power if we obtain high-ranking positions. No matter what capacity we may occupy, we must serve with integrity! We must honor God with our services, and we must ensure that we are fair in our decisions. In addition, we must not be greedy with our positions. We must adequately serve in whatever capacity that we occupy and ensure that we do not entertain selfish ambitions. God will honor any Christian who honors him with his or her position, but he will punish anyone who misuses his or her position.
Prayer:
Dear God, please keep me humble and do not let me be obsessed with power. Help me to manage my position well so that I will not provoke your fury. Let me apply godly fear to all my engagements and let me be a true ambassador of Jesus Christ. I also pray for people in authority: Please grant them god-fearing hearts; empower them to make good judgments. Do not let them focus on selfish ambitions, but help them to adequately serve in whatever capacity that they occupy. Let it be well with people in the government, and let there be peace in our land. For in the name of Jesus Christ I make my requests. Amen.
