Overcoming The Lust For Power
DAILY VITAMIN
- Overcoming The Lust For Power
"For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.
But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart.". (1 Timothy 6:10-11 AMP)
How far can your desire for power drive you? To what extent can it move you? The pursuit of power has driven many a man mad. It has moved even great men to do things against their beliefs. It has caused many men to kill families and break fellowships. Well to Daniel, it didn't move him any bit, because he was never driven by power, but by God's will for him.
After passing the greatest test that had ever been asked in the country of Babylon, he was given the right to sit comfortably as Governor of the province, yet Daniel chose to sit in the gate of the King (2:49). To many of us, he might seem as a man use to the ways of the life of penury, or as we would say - was lacking in his self esteem; but in reality Daniel was neither of these, rather he was a man that worked with purpose and timing.
He knew when it was time to be comfortable and when to be agile. In fact, the truth is, he chose to be at the gate. For instance, without that choice of the gate, there would be no lion's den, which without there would have been no promotion from Darius.
Daniel's decision to either stay or run wild can be used as an example of everything we pass through today. We are so moved by our lust for power that we willingly discard God's will (of the long term) for our temporal pleasure (of the short term). Unlike Daniel, we choose comfort when the next day a greater trouble prepares to come against those we love. Daniel never knew that in days to come his friends would be in a dilemma, and would need somebody to edify and encourage them to seek God's will.
Little wonder why they chose not to bow to the image, since Daniel never bowed to the lust for power.
So, what do we do?
1. Focus on God: Our aim in life should be to please God and not to appease the flesh. We must choose God’s will over the cravings that easily besets us. Thus, set your mind on never breaking His heart, and you never will. With your eyes completely on God, you'd not have the time to pursue trivial things (Galatians 5:16). We must never give in to the devil's tricks. His role is to keep pushing till we fall, while ours is to keep fighting back until we overcome him to the glory of Jesus. So, to beat the unneeded need to satisfy your lust of pleasure and power, ensure that you give yourself to do all God expects of you per time.
2. Stick to your priorities: As Paul said, all things may seem appealing, but not all things are important. A lot of people chase a lot of things they don't need, and desert the things that truly gives essence to their lives. And this only succeeds in taking them out of God's preferred path for them. They want control and end up losing hold of what was truly the piece they needed. Stick to your needs. You know what you should be doing in life, and how God wants it done, stick to it. The day Solomon delved to other nations matters that were against David's original instructions to him, he began to fall. So, stick to what God tells you to do, or else you might be blown away from His mission for you and into the unabated demands of your flesh.
Note, your actions today determine someone else's tomorrow; so before you let power drive you, know that your decision would drive another either to life or death.
- Overcoming The Lust For Power
"For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.
But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart.". (1 Timothy 6:10-11 AMP)
How far can your desire for power drive you? To what extent can it move you? The pursuit of power has driven many a man mad. It has moved even great men to do things against their beliefs. It has caused many men to kill families and break fellowships. Well to Daniel, it didn't move him any bit, because he was never driven by power, but by God's will for him.
After passing the greatest test that had ever been asked in the country of Babylon, he was given the right to sit comfortably as Governor of the province, yet Daniel chose to sit in the gate of the King (2:49). To many of us, he might seem as a man use to the ways of the life of penury, or as we would say - was lacking in his self esteem; but in reality Daniel was neither of these, rather he was a man that worked with purpose and timing.
He knew when it was time to be comfortable and when to be agile. In fact, the truth is, he chose to be at the gate. For instance, without that choice of the gate, there would be no lion's den, which without there would have been no promotion from Darius.
Daniel's decision to either stay or run wild can be used as an example of everything we pass through today. We are so moved by our lust for power that we willingly discard God's will (of the long term) for our temporal pleasure (of the short term). Unlike Daniel, we choose comfort when the next day a greater trouble prepares to come against those we love. Daniel never knew that in days to come his friends would be in a dilemma, and would need somebody to edify and encourage them to seek God's will.
Little wonder why they chose not to bow to the image, since Daniel never bowed to the lust for power.
So, what do we do?
1. Focus on God: Our aim in life should be to please God and not to appease the flesh. We must choose God’s will over the cravings that easily besets us. Thus, set your mind on never breaking His heart, and you never will. With your eyes completely on God, you'd not have the time to pursue trivial things (Galatians 5:16). We must never give in to the devil's tricks. His role is to keep pushing till we fall, while ours is to keep fighting back until we overcome him to the glory of Jesus. So, to beat the unneeded need to satisfy your lust of pleasure and power, ensure that you give yourself to do all God expects of you per time.
2. Stick to your priorities: As Paul said, all things may seem appealing, but not all things are important. A lot of people chase a lot of things they don't need, and desert the things that truly gives essence to their lives. And this only succeeds in taking them out of God's preferred path for them. They want control and end up losing hold of what was truly the piece they needed. Stick to your needs. You know what you should be doing in life, and how God wants it done, stick to it. The day Solomon delved to other nations matters that were against David's original instructions to him, he began to fall. So, stick to what God tells you to do, or else you might be blown away from His mission for you and into the unabated demands of your flesh.
Note, your actions today determine someone else's tomorrow; so before you let power drive you, know that your decision would drive another either to life or death.
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