Personal Power

Moses is one of the leading characters of The Bible. He is the author of its first five books, and his life is the subject of one. He is one of the few men of scripture who we watch develop from the cradle to the grave. Moses belongs to a small and exclusive group of men whom the Bible hold in high esteem because of their unusual intimacy with God. Abraham was called the friend of God. David was a man after God's own heart. Moses spoke to God "face to face."

Moses is not only one of the leading characters of the Bible, Moses is also one of the leading characters of world history. Moses left a dent in the world. His influence transcends worlds and cuts across dimensions. In the realm of history, Moses was the first freedom fighter. He organized and led a movement to liberate a group of slaves and brought them to the edge of freedom. In the realm of law, Moses was the recipient of the ten commandments, one of the first codes of conduct that is the backbone of western jurisprudence. In the realm of religion, Moses stands first among the heroes of the Old Testament. All of God’s early dealings with Israel were transacted through Moses. He was a prophet, priest, and king in one person, and so united all the great and important functions which later were distributed among a plurality of persons.  Acts 7:22 summarizes his legacy simply, shortly, and succinctly. It says (in part) that “Moses was mighty in word and deed.” 

The assertion that  “Moses was mighty” recently struck me with peculiar force.  I once heard that the shorter the introduction, the more important the person.  That is why when the president of the United States is introduced, he is simply introduced as “the president of the United States.”  Nothing more is necessary.  Anything else would be superfluous.  The title says it all.  The duly elected leader of the most powerful and prosperous country in the history of the world commands a respect that requires little elaboration and no explanation.  The phrase “Moses was mighty” has the same aroma of dignity.  The word mighty that is used to describe Moses is the Greek word dunamis.  That word is the etymological ancestor of the word dynamite, and it means inherent power—power that emanates from within.  “Moses was mighty” means that Moses was like dynamite.   Moses had personal power.

There are at least seven kinds of power. There is coercive power. Coercive power is the ability to punish. There is resource power. Resource power is the power that enables the distribution of scarce or valuable resources. There is position power. Position power is the power that results from achieving position or status within a hierarchy. There is information power. Information power stems from the possession or acquisition of valuable data. There is association power. Association power stems from relationships with or proximity to individuals of influence or status. Finally, there is personal power. Personal power stems from internal character attributes.

The only enduring kind of power is personal power. All of the other varieties can be taken or lost. But power that stems from the possession of character can not be affected by the accidents of history, the changing of seasons, nor the whims of people. Personal power cannot be bought. Personal power cannot be sold. Personal power cannot be transferred. Personal power can only be earned.

We immediately and intuitively sense an individual who possesses personal power. They are unavoidable and unforgettable. There is something magnetic and majestic about them. To be in their presence is a present.  

So today, here is my question for you: if you left, would anybody know or care that you were gone?