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An Impoverishing Potentate

This is the third and final installment in this brief series of posts exploring the counterfeit and heartless trinity that has largely supplanted the true and living God in the hearts of so many here in the West. We have looked at the gods of Knowledge and Pleasure, and now we turn our attention to the last of these three, Power.

Holding a newborn child in my arms reminds me of our frailty in a mighty way. Seeing how weak we are at the beginning of our lives, how absolutely dependent on others for the most basic of necessities, makes me wonder how we survive our childhood at all. We cannot clothe ourselves or feed ourselves, let alone defend ourselves from danger of any kind. We enter the world in utter helplessness. Perhaps this explains the universal quest for power, and how it subtly slides from a simple pursuit of abilities to a reigning deity in our lives. We feel how fragile we are in the face of the brutal elements of a fallen world and quickly begin amassing barriers to protect our feeble beings. Blankets from the cold, shelter from the heat, and weapons to protect us from innumerable forces that would snuff out our precious lives. Our perfecting of protection becomes the place our hearts can rest. Power is the yearning of the weak. 

The pseudo-god of Power takes on many forms. It doesn’t just deal with military might or the strength of castle walls. The successful businessman, as well, finds security within the fortress of his wealth and status. The lovely woman, too, may come to see that she has currency in her beauty that can buy almost anything. And the doctor or the college professor my find a sanctuary in the might of his expertise. In short, the only salvation this counterfeit god can offer is a temporary place to hide, a shelter that the relative wealth of some particular strength provides. But its throne is established squarely on the ground where moth and rust and thieves abide. How quickly the woman’s beauty fades, how suddenly the businessman’s barns are emptied of their store, and how soon the expert’s findings of mere months ago are overturned by further data! This god is an impoverishing potentate. It saps us of vitality precisely because its very life proceeds from us. False gods are always lifeless emanations of ourselves. Our tiny attributes are amplified, then we bow before the image. They enslave us because they are us. They are propped up by our adoration and we are depleted by our devotion to them. And few idols are as ruthless as Power.

But Power’s greatest harm is in diverting our attention from our deepest weakness – our lack of moral strength. The deity of Power most often goes by the name of Wealth here in the West. If I can have, not what I need, but what I want, exactly when I want it, my sense of vulnerability fades into the pinning mist of yesterday, and my moral poverty is masked by the power of Wealth. “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17) Our power to possess blinds us to our needs. The tattered rags of our filthy righteousness go unnoticed for all the distractions that Wealth and Power grant us. But still, we feel our weakness. Deep down, perhaps when we’re alone, we feel the creeping weariness of not being able to live up to the moral law that lies upon us, not from the outside, but etched upon our hearts by the One who made it. We are burdened by a weight that Power cannot lift.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30) Ah, the voice of Him who upholds all things by the word of His power speaks to us. And He who became poor that we might be rich calls us to Himself. He who “neither faints nor is weary” (Isa. 40:28), and is not “worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things,” (Acts 17:25) beckons us to come. How different is the true and living God from the false gods of Knowledge, Pleasure, and Power. He Himself is “the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) And He is the “Desire of all nations.” (Hag. 2:7), and the “Lord God Almighty” (Rev. 4:8). Oh, let us leave these idols behind and cling to Him who has promised to receive us and has said, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” (1 Cor. 6:18) Amen, Lord, may it be!