I’ve been thinking about power lately. And how to tell the difference between power that’s good and power that’s not.
Power over is oppressive. It tells people what to do. It controls them. And power to—that’s the power to lift people up, to help them, to do something positive with what you’ve got.
The thing is, there’s no getting away from it. There’s no place where there are no people and no power dynamics. It happens in households. It happens in businesses. It happens in churches. It happens everywhere. Because whenever you have more of something—more size, more health, more resources, more education, more age, whatever—you have power over someone else. And that’s where the temptation is.
Micah was talking to people who had gotten into the habit of using their power wrong. They were powerful and they liked it. And they didn’t want to let it go. So they used it to keep other people down.
Here’s the deal though. In the end, what the Lord requires is simple. Do justice. Embrace faithful love. Walk humbly with your God.
Justice. Love. Humility. Those are the things that matter.
When we have something—money, time, ability, education, position—we have to ask ourselves: am I using this to help or to control? Am I using this to lift people up or to keep them down? Am I walking humbly, or am I acting like my power makes me better?
Because it doesn’t. It just means I have more responsibility. To be kind. To be just. To love the people I could hurt if I wasn’t careful.
A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope