POWER - a blessing or a curse?

Power is a dangerous thing. It is like natural gas, or lightning, or the force of water flowing over Niagara falls or through the power of a flood.

Power can destroy if not used wisely. Power has to be tempered with wisdom and gentleness, otherwise it can hurt others.

I also believe it needs to be used according to the Will of God.

I encounter powerful people as I go through my days, and I observe. I watch. I think about how they use their power, or misuse it as the case may be. Sometimes I think about the tiny amount of power I might have in the world.

Some people aren't aware of the power they have, or could have, over others. For instance, There are quite a few people who have power and use it to strongly influence my life and sometimes that ticks me off. It is at those moments that I feel powerless. I suppose the only power I have in those situations is to walk away, but sometimes even that isn't possible. Sometimes you just have to endure something, or put up with something, until you can figure out a creative way to get out of the influence of someone else's power.

As I "hear" myself write this I find that I am getting angry with myself. I am an American and independent and I shouldn't have to put up with people telling me what to do and so strongly influencing my life. But the reality is, people do influence my life. People do tell me what to do - whether it is my church or my job or even family members. Then you have to figure in society and our culture and the expectations that are put upon us. Example: the IRS has power over me because they take my hard earned money away from me. My work place has power over me because they tell me what hours I have to work and what my duties are from 9 - 5. My church tells me what I have to do in regards to what is appropriate Christian behavior and what rules and rituals I have to follow or accept. The Catholic church certainly isn't a democracy. Family members have a pull on me too because no matter how much I try to not bother them, they still come out of the woodwork every so often and push all my buttons and no matter how hard I try to rise above it, pray through it, ignore it, etc, they still get to me.

Sometimes I only want to be under God's power, but these other powers in the world pound against me like a rough tide on a sea wall, and it is exhausting.

I'd like to think I am a gentle person. A passivist. I try hard to be a good christian. Part of all those things is humility, obedience, acceptance, compassion, etc... but it is hard sometimes to distinguish those things from being a doormat and that is not good.

Whenever I am given the opportunity to have power I try to remember what it is like to be on the other side of power so I use what little power that has been granted to me in an appropriate manner.

Another thought on power and the power of God is when you think about priests and the power God has given them. I've met some priests who might intellectually know that they have the power to heal, forgive sins, or speak and be the vehicle for Jesus to become present in the Eucharist, but then some aren't proactive with their power. They act like they can't really heal and sometimes I think they forget that their words have power. Or they don't actively engage their parishioners in conversations so as to influence their spiritual growth in a more effective way. Priests have the most wonderful power in the world running through their souls, hearts, and hands, and are specially annointed by God to share His power with the world. In this day and age, we need brave priests who are unafraid to speak the truth and challenge the people in their homilies. By their power they can empower the laity and we can be one force in the world. But the laity needs the leadership of our priests and bishops. But anyway, I digress...that might be a topic for another blog.

Also, parents don't realize the power they have over their children. I believe many parents today are lax in realizing that. They let the schools or society or the media mold their children and then when the kids become teenagers they wonder what happened to their cute little kids because they are not the people they wanted them to turn out to be. But when you let others have power over your kids, then you reap what you sow.

As for me, the only power I think have right now ( and I'm not even sure of that ), is the power of writing - whether it is this little blog that probably nobody reads on the planet, or the few writing projects I am currently working on. I also have the power to influence the lives of small children through my work and I hope I am doing some good. Some days it is hard to tell.

Do I wish I had MORE power? I don't know. Like I said before, power can be a dangerous thing. Even Jesus said the meek shall inherit the earth, so I guess unless he calls you to have power, it is best to keep quiet.

I guess I just wish the people who have power would realize it, first of all, then discern in prayer how God wants them to use the power they have been given. It always pains me when immature people are given power, and sometimes that is as simple as giving them a microphone on TV. Now, that is a scary thing. Hence, we have reality shows and talk shows and Judge shows, and the news.

If I were given more power I would try and use it wisely. But for now, I have to walk between the lines set before me by those who have the power. I have to sit quiet and wait for either their okay OR for God to blast through and directly tell me what to do and then empower me to do it. So, in short, I will probably just keep sitting quietly and doing my job each day, or sitting in the pew quietly waiting and praying, or waiting in line at the bank, or sitting in traffic...waiting....

Is having power a blessing or a curse? I guess it depends on who gave you the power and how you use it.

I don't think one should purposely go after power for the sake of having it to lord over others. I think power should empower someone to serve humanity.

These are my thoughts tonight....