Power for the Sake of Others

Discovery and innovation are not going to cease, nor should they. This means America—along with the rest of the world—needs an ethical revolution.

Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule…the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Genesis 1:26, Psalm 68:35

In the plan and purposes of God, you are meant to have power. You are meant to have the ability to use your will to make your life count for good by ruling with God.

Rule is not a right—it is a responsibility. Rule is not hierarchical, something to be pushed or imposed upon others against their will. Not even God, who has 100% of all power available to him, imposes himself on others. You may remember that Jesus let the Rich Young Ruler walk away from him. Similarly, God, for now, allows humankind to ignore him, to disregard his loving, ethical use of power and exploit it for their own purposes.

The Misuse and Abuse of Power

When humans discovered fire, they gratefully cooked their food and warmed their bodies and living spaces. They also quickly learned that fire could be weaponized to burn down the homes of those they hated, those who stood in the way of some self-important goal.

When humanity invented the wheel, it made moving the material goods of life much easier. But soon, people realized they could move rocks and other weapons to neighboring villages to attack their enemies.

When powerful machines were invented, they allowed for increased production and efficiency. But the Machine-Age also led to the most destructive weapons the world had ever seen—by far. Some social historians wonder if humanity has ever truly recovered from the mechanized terror of World War I.

Then, sooner than anyone would have predicted, there was another world war. This time, new atomic power caused instantaneous destruction that was beforehand unimaginable.

The World Wide Web exhibited its awesome power by connecting human beings in undreamed-of ways. Love flowed between families and friends separated by oceans or by life circumstances. But the Web has also facilitated fraud on an unprecedented scale. In addition, there are now 420 million pages of pornography on the internet. Nearly 35% of all downloads are pornography. Of the 40 million Americans who regularly visit porn sites, 200,000 are classified as “porn addicts.”

That brief and depressing summary brings us to the next major advance in power: artificial intelligence (AI). If used within the God-ordained definition of rule as responsibility, AI has the potential for human good. But you can bet that in the future, bad actors will perfect the weaponization of AI. We already have hints of this destruction with deep fakes and frauds of all kinds. 

An Ethical Revolution

Discovery and innovation are not going to cease, nor should they. This means America—along with the rest of the world—needs an ethical revolution, a revival of moral clarity regarding the use of power. As Dallas Willard wrote,

Every advance in human technology is simultaneously an ethical challenge.

Such a renewal must begin with a vision of the person and work of Jesus. He used his power to go around doing good (Acts 10:38). Jesus knew he had all power—more than all the mechanical, technological or atomic power of the world put together. He knew he was totally secure in his Father’s love and care. What did he do as a secure person with power? He set an example by washing his friends’ feet (John 13).

How do we live into a vision of such Christlikeness? It begins with a decision, the determination to become a well-ordered person. Well-ordered describes someone whose heart, soul, mind, emotions, will and social relations are all aligned to the purposes of God. In turn, this decision creates powerful people who do powerful acts of love, good, healing, repair and God-defined justice.   

God called Abraham and created Israel through him. He gave Israel great power and privilege. Why? So that the world would be blessed through the favor given them (Genesis 12:1-3). Joseph lived into that history. Even under uncommonly unfair treatment, he used his institutional power for the good of others (Genesis 47:25). David, not so much. He used his social power to steal Bathsheba from Uriah and then have him killed (2 Samuel 12:7-10).  

The Choice

Whether we have little position, power and influence or great amounts of it, all forms of power—from wheels to AI—place a stark choice before us. We can either appropriately use power to love and serve others, or we can use it selfishly, even violently, to destroy those we have already condemned and dehumanized.

Given the enormous power humans now possess, we need to hear Jesus afresh: Come follow me…for the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). In so doing, Jesus is the perfect model, the exact imprint of God’s nature (Hebrews 1:3, ESV). He models what God intended by giving human beings the invitation and capacity to rule—to make the world a better place for others.