#404: Are Power and Influence Important to You?

Power and influence are essential. Without them, leaders can’t lead.

Reading the Scripture, it is clear, that God’s intention is for leaders to use power and influence to help and protect His people. Unfortunately, power and influence are not always used in the way God intended. Sadly, many of our leaders today use their power and influence to serve their own selfish ends.

The Wrong Way to Use Power and Influence

In Psalm 82, God accuses the judges of the day of using their power and influence the wrong way! He indicts the judges for using their leadership position to promote injustice.

“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?” (Psalm 82:2)

God is calling out two issues here.

First, these judges are defending the unjust. That means they see and recognize the unjust behavior or action, and instead of condemning it, they are defending it. They are promoting injustice rather than dispensing justice. This is the exact opposite of what God expects of a leader!

Second, these judges are showing partiality to the wicked. So, these judges preferentially treat evil people instead of promoting justice. Again, this is the exact opposite of what God expects of a leader.

The Proper Use of Power and Influence

After He accuses the judges of misusing their power and influence, God explains how they should be using their positions instead.

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4)

First, defend the cause of the weak and fatherless. Weak people and orphans often have no one to protect them and must rely on honest judges. Defending their cause does not mean judging in their favor all the time. Rather, judge them fairly, not taking advantage of their weak status.

Second, maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. The rights of the poor and oppressed are often ignored. However, God says judges should use their power and influence to maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Third, rescue the weak and needy from the wicked. Wicked people take advantage of the weak and needy. These people need protection from oppression the most!

Do you see the theme here? God is especially concerned with leaders who misuse their power and influence. They defend the unjust, and they show partiality to the wicked.

Instead, says God, leaders should use their power and influence to:

• defend the cause of the weak,
• ensure their rights are not trampled upon, and when necessary,
• rescue them from those who would oppress them.

Leaders Will Face Judgment

God reminds these judges who are misusing their power and influence that He is the ultimate judge. He will judge these men who think of themselves as little gods among men.

“God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the “gods.” (Psalm 82:1)

This should serve as a warning to us as leaders today to use our power and influence the right way.

Sadly, the quest for power is why we have so many terrible leaders today.

There Is No Shortage of Power-Hungry Abusive Leaders

There is no shortage of men and women who assume positions of leadership solely to see how much power they can exercise.

In the late 19th century, there were numerous monarchies worldwide governed by dictators with absolute power.

Responding to these absolute monarchs’ abuses of power, Lord Acton observed that a leader’s morality lessens as their power increases. Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Look around at our leaders today. It was true in the time of the Psalmist, and it is true today.  With more power comes more corruption.

As Christian leaders, we need to be especially cognizant of the temptation to misuse the power and influence entrusted to us. We must remain faithful to God’s command to use our power and influence to defend the cause of the weak while maintaining the rights of the poor, and when necessary, rescue the weak from the oppression surrounding us in this fallen world!

More Articles

I have written several articles on this topic. You can find them by typing “power and influence” in the search bar. Meanwhile, here are four of my favorites.

• #402: Is Good Leadership More Than the Exercise of Power?
• #390: Are Certain Positional Leaders Destroying Our Society?
• #131: How Space Mountain is Like Following Jesus
• #130: The Higher You Climb, The Harder You Fall

Join the Conversation

As always, questions and comments are welcome. Have you experienced leaders who misused their power and influence? What was the impact of their leadership on the organization?

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Category: Relationships | Power/Influence