Power or Abuse

Power or Abuse

Why have we allowed the media to dictate so much to us? Have we given them far too much credibility? Everything has to be sensationalised in order to be even worth our attention. The press  and television tell us what is good for us and what is not. They put their political masters political spin, or lies by any other name, on everything and every event. They even dictate what is important news and what isn’t even worth a mention.

They say that money and position is power. In the media’s case it seems to be much more like the abuse of power. Who was it once said, “Power corrupts – absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Jesus knew all about the abuse of power. The Pharisees were the butt of many of His jibes and jokes. “White-washed sepulchres” He called them. Their legalism and blatant hypocrisy was one of the few things that made Jesus angry – them and the temple traders. Sad to say, there is as much hypocrisy and abuse of power in the church today – things have changed little in 2000 years. The Pharisaic spirit still runs amok in our midst today as it did in our Lords day.

Jesus never abused the power at His command. He always treated people lovingly and with respect. He also never gave way to bullying tactics nor did He bully anyone. I am sure the spirit of slap must have arisen in Him a few times but He never succumbed. We should always strive to imitate His example no matter the circumstances. One of the marks of a Spirit filled Christian is the way they deal with all men – the high and famous as well as the poor and unknown. We must treat every person we meet with both love and respect. That alone will set us apart from the rest of the world and mark us as followers of Christ.

I am sure the press and media take great joy in tearing the rich and famous down – even the not so rich and famous too. There is no respect from them – no love – no dignity. As Christians we must always strive to maintain these things. We are to give hope where there is no hope. Give love where there is little or no love. Bring healing to shattered lives; food to the hungry in our midst; shelter for the poor, the widows, and orphans. We have life abundant and there is always enough to share with others.

Such love will never make the worlds headlines but it will spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and it will please our Father in Heaven too. That is never going to be a bad thing is it?