Does power corrupt?

[imperfectchristian]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." ~ John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton


Agree or disagree and why?

 

[Peaceful Dove]

Yes that is true.
I like to quote my Grandpa who always used the worn out saying, "give em enough rope and they will hang themselves".

Same as absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

[imperfectchristian]

Yes that is true.
I like to quote my Grandpa who always used the worn out saying, "give em enough rope and they will hang themselves".

Same as absolute power corrupts absolutely.

So you are saying that power actually has the ability to turn a good person bad?

What if power only exposes what is already in the heart?

 

[SUNSTONE]

Well if it is true then God must be the most evil being in the universe.

 

[gratefulgrace]

I agree Sun it depends on whose power the person has. For me I want all of God's power I can safely handle. Anotther thought maybe that is why Jesus made such a point of teaching about servanthoond. gg

 

[ARBITER01]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." ~ John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton


Agree or disagree and why?

Disagree for the most part. There are cases where good men have turned bad, but it normally was because of something else (like knowledge and pride) that caused it.

Power in itself is not the problem.

 

[Deba]

Living in Laos I have had a major paradigm shift in the definition of a servant's heart. But in that there is a flip side of power and expectation, that could be a stumbling block.

Shoes are not worn inside. One morning I come downstairs to go to work and someone had washed my shoes because they needed it.
I leave a dirty spoon in the sink for 5 minutes and it gets washed.
My bicycle is frequently washed, I don't know who does it.
I carry a box and everyone runs to help me. etc. etc.

I am very uncomfortable with personal service. Even though part of my compensation is a maid to clean my home and do my laundry, I do my own.

So I have found that living in this environment of being treated like a queen, I must sometimes consciously remind myself that I am here as a servant to them. The wearing down of the saints can assume many seductive faces, power is one of them.

 

[gratefulgrace]

Wow that is very touching Deba. I can really see your point. North Americans do have a sense of entitlement that is totally unscriptural.

 

[Deba]

The main reason they treat me like a queen is because, I am white. They think that everyone in the world is better than them, even other Asian nationalities. And the whiter the better. (I'm pale-skinned with snow white hair.)

Another reason is the perception that I have money. In this instance, the belief is much like that in the west.

 

[Elijah2]

Believers are given authority of the powers of darkness, NOT power! Power breeds control, and corruption! Leaders are to tend and feed HIS lambs and sheep, not have power and control over them.

Blessings!

 

[gratefulgrace]

Yes I see that difference power and authority can be used interchangably though I believe. Elijah.

 

[Elijah2]

Yes I see that difference power and authority can be used interchangably though I believe. Elijah.

We are given authority through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not given power over demons, we are only given authority.

Blessings!

 

[NaLuvena]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." ~ John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton


Agree or disagree and why?

I disagree.

How can the power that comes from God, corrupt? the truly great men are good men. Case in point, Jesus.

 

[imperfectchristian]

Believers are given authority of the powers of darkness, NOT power! Power breeds control, and corruption! Leaders are to tend and feed HIS lambs and sheep, not have power and control over them.

Blessings!

I agree with this!

 

[Peaceful Dove]

So you are saying that power actually has the ability to turn a good person bad?

What if power only exposes what is already in the heart?

Yes, I agree that power only exposes what is already in the heart.

It is sort of like the scripture that the "love of money is the root of all evil" and you "cannot serve mannon and the Lord".
That is taken out of context but when you read the entire scripture, it tells how "greed" can lead us to our own destruction.

So, if a person has a great hunger for power, it does have the power to corrupt.

We have all seen this, even in the Church at different times in history.

 

[MrSnow]

In our language, the word "power" can have a few different meanings. In the "physics" sense, it means something along the lines of useable energy. In the political sense, it has more of an authority/control kind of meaning.

I believe that the person making that original quote was not thinking of power in the sense of "energy" or something like that, but rather in the sense of having the ability/authority to make people do what he/she wants to happen.

Darth Sidious can use the power of force lightning to kill an enemy.

Barack Obama has the power to veto a bill.

Both of those people have some kind of power. But they are two very different kinds of power, and the word "power" in both instances means something different.

It is my belief that the voice of Scripture is that, although we are in the image of God, due to having fallen into sin we are basically evil; that if left to ourselves to do whatever we want to do with no influence from God, we would, individually and collectively, grow more and more sinful and wicked.

I think that there are probably some people who would not abuse authority, no matter how much they were given. But I think that they are few and far between. I think that most people, if given enough power, would succumb to the temptation to abuse that power.

And I agree with the person who said that it would only bring out what's already in the heart. But the fact is that all of us have sin in our hearts. If given enough power, that sin would probably come out from just about every single one of us.

And that is why I like what the US's founding father put into our constitution by way of checks and balances. I think that if any one branch of the government were to gain too much power, that power would not be given up unless forced to. And I believe that applies to the government as a whole. If we give it too much authority over our lives, we'll never get it back unless we force them to give it back.

 

[gratefulgrace]

In our language, the word "power" can have a few different meanings. In the "physics" sense, it means something along the lines of useable energy. In the political sense, it has more of an authority/control kind of meaning.

I believe that the person making that original quote was not thinking of power in the sense of "energy" or something like that, but rather in the sense of having the ability/authority to make people do what he/she wants to happen.

Darth Sidious can use the power of force lightning to kill an enemy.

Barack Obama has the power to veto a bill.

Both of those people have some kind of power. But they are two very different kinds of power, and the word "power" in both instances means something different.

It is my belief that the voice of Scripture is that, although we are in the image of God, due to having fallen into sin we are basically evil; that if left to ourselves to do whatever we want to do with no influence from God, we would, individually and collectively, grow more and more sinful and wicked.

I think that there are probably some people who would not abuse authority, no matter how much they were given. But I think that they are few and far between. I think that most people, if given enough power, would succumb to the temptation to abuse that power.

And I agree with the person who said that it would only bring out what's already in the heart. But the fact is that all of us have sin in our hearts. If given enough power, that sin would probably come out from just about every single one of us.

And that is why I like what the US's founding father put into our constitution by way of checks and balances. I think that if any one branch of the government were to gain too much power, that power would not be given up unless forced to. And I believe that applies to the government as a whole. If we give it too much authority over our lives, we'll never get it back unless we force them to give it back.

Amen you have explained it well I think. We all have the potential to be corrupted by unlimited ppwer over others or circumstances. ( a frivilous example I suppose is in the movie Bruce Almighty. )

 

[Elijah2]

Did you know that the most "powerful" part of our body is our tongue, and what comes off our tongue comes from our heart. Therefore, "power" comes from the heart and is a river of an abundant life or a prideful life.

 

[Gnarwhal]

I believe that power does corrupt, we're imperfect beings. In my opinion the only being meant to have all power is the Lord. And when we, as a broken creation are exposed to any sort of power we began to break down. Some career politicians for example, I'm sure prior to (or even early on in) their careers are often morally decent people but the longer they hold office they begin to throw their morals and ethics out the window in favor of gaining power or maintaining the power they already have.

However I see there being exceptions to this. I think if a person is a true follower of Christ who picks up their cross daily then they're constantly reminded of who they are and who God is and thus they remember that it's not about what kind of power they can gain over their fellow man because it's ultimately worthless.

 

[ARBITER01]

I believe that power does corrupt, we're imperfect beings. In my opinion the only being meant to have all power is the Lord. And when we, as a broken creation are exposed to any sort of power we began to break down. Some career politicians for example, I'm sure prior to (or even early on in) their careers are often morally decent people but the longer they hold office they begin to throw their morals and ethics out the window in favor of gaining power or maintaining the power they already have.

However I see there being exceptions to this. I think if a person is a true follower of Christ who picks up their cross daily then they're constantly reminded of who they are and who God is and thus they remember that it's not about what kind of power they can gain over their fellow man because it's ultimately worthless.

Actually, if GOD really thought we were incapable of having HIS power operating through us, Jesus would have never said this,..

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.

GOD is offering the same power that Jesus operated in, and greater.

Of course, there is always the chance that a person can rise up in pride, but the ultimate goal is to have love operating through us, both in grace and mercy, and it seems that GOD is more than willing to take chances with us to manifest HIS glory in the process.

We shouldn't be afraid of reaching for it.