She absolutely knew its gold’s driving power to change the souls of men.”
–Zane Grey (The Border Legion)
“Now listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample the needy! I will never forget the wicked things you have done!”
“Now listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample the needy! I will never forget the wicked things you have done!”
–Amos 8:4,7 (NLT)
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There is a difference between leadership and power. There are few leaders, though there are many in leadership positions. And I will ask why–then give you the answer–power. I don’t care how big the organization is, there is a quest for power in most of them. To look around and you see very few leaders, but you see many hungry and grasping for power. Reaction to adversity will show character, but give a man power and true character will be seen. Look at the way Ecclesiastes puts it:
“If you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and justice being miscarried throughout the land, don’t be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice only get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. Even the king milks the land for his own profit!”
–Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 (NLT)
Oh, the powerful, the elite, in our country the politicians who claim they are working for the common and poor people are only in reality attempting to stay in power. Machiavelli said it right–“the end justifies the means.” Woe unto the person who practices that humanistic ideology. The rich, the powerful, all they truly want is more power. Don’t get in their way or they will attempt to crush you, slander you, destroy you one way or another. Lies will spew from their mouths if someone is a threat to their power.
Some want the power to gain wealth. “More, I want more,” they cry. Look at the astronomical salaries of pro sports and entertainers. How can anyone come close to spending all that money, and yet they still cry for more? The truth of the matter is that so many of them die having lived a wasted life with nothing left to show for their living. I read something just last week about teammates laughing at Larry Bird for saving his money. He would try to help them, warn them they needed to look beyond the glory days of youth. He said in later years many of them would come begging to him for money. It is beyond me how a person could spend millions of dollars and have nothing to show for it, but that is what Solomon says,
“Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what is the advantage of wealth–except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers!”
–Ecclesiastes 5:10-11(NLT)
The love of money will bring no satisfaction. It is like power, the more you have the more you want and you go to sleep at night worrying if you’ll hang on to it and devising ways to get more. If you love money or power you will never say “that is enough.” Paul writes to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV)
Frustration and fear abounds in the wealthy and powerful. Look at them in the media, look at their countenance, see the fear and evil in their faces. Someone has said, “More money, more people; more people, more worries; more worries, less sleep.” These people live a harsh life, a worrisome life. They walk around with an entourage of pleasers–boot-licking lackies we used to call them. In reality they are parasites waiting, but I ask waiting for what? Surely not for the person to lose their power for what would happen to them? They would be cast aside.
The best thing is to work hard. Work is good for the soul, while the rich and powerful are close to losing theirs. Work for the Lord, as Paul admonishes in Colossians. Solomon concludes this little portion of Scripture with these words, “People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much…” (Ecclesiastes 5:12, NLT)
——————————–
There is a difference between leadership and power. There are few leaders, though there are many in leadership positions. And I will ask why–then give you the answer–power. I don’t care how big the organization is, there is a quest for power in most of them. To look around and you see very few leaders, but you see many hungry and grasping for power. Reaction to adversity will show character, but give a man power and true character will be seen. Look at the way Ecclesiastes puts it:
“If you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and justice being miscarried throughout the land, don’t be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice only get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. Even the king milks the land for his own profit!”
–Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 (NLT)
Oh, the powerful, the elite, in our country the politicians who claim they are working for the common and poor people are only in reality attempting to stay in power. Machiavelli said it right–“the end justifies the means.” Woe unto the person who practices that humanistic ideology. The rich, the powerful, all they truly want is more power. Don’t get in their way or they will attempt to crush you, slander you, destroy you one way or another. Lies will spew from their mouths if someone is a threat to their power.
Some want the power to gain wealth. “More, I want more,” they cry. Look at the astronomical salaries of pro sports and entertainers. How can anyone come close to spending all that money, and yet they still cry for more? The truth of the matter is that so many of them die having lived a wasted life with nothing left to show for their living. I read something just last week about teammates laughing at Larry Bird for saving his money. He would try to help them, warn them they needed to look beyond the glory days of youth. He said in later years many of them would come begging to him for money. It is beyond me how a person could spend millions of dollars and have nothing to show for it, but that is what Solomon says,
“Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what is the advantage of wealth–except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers!”
–Ecclesiastes 5:10-11(NLT)
The love of money will bring no satisfaction. It is like power, the more you have the more you want and you go to sleep at night worrying if you’ll hang on to it and devising ways to get more. If you love money or power you will never say “that is enough.” Paul writes to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV)
Frustration and fear abounds in the wealthy and powerful. Look at them in the media, look at their countenance, see the fear and evil in their faces. Someone has said, “More money, more people; more people, more worries; more worries, less sleep.” These people live a harsh life, a worrisome life. They walk around with an entourage of pleasers–boot-licking lackies we used to call them. In reality they are parasites waiting, but I ask waiting for what? Surely not for the person to lose their power for what would happen to them? They would be cast aside.
The best thing is to work hard. Work is good for the soul, while the rich and powerful are close to losing theirs. Work for the Lord, as Paul admonishes in Colossians. Solomon concludes this little portion of Scripture with these words, “People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much…” (Ecclesiastes 5:12, NLT)