A Moral Foundation
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. (Proverbs 16:32)
The typical television drama of today is about punishing another person — someone who has done something wrong. It is an emotional unleashing in our hearts of anger against those we consider to be “bad.” We are fed violence and retaliation on a daily basis. Though we can truly call many of our law enforcers “heroes,” men and women who put their lives on the line daily, the greater work is always positive in nature — to build and rebuild, to redeem and restore, to forgive and reconcile.
Retaliatory violence breeds more violence, and the one who wants to make the “bad people” pay for what they have done will find himself becoming increasingly evil and violent himself. It is a sad but common story found in history, that the deliverers who rise up to fight against injustice, once they are in power become unjust themselves.
It was Lord Acton (1834–1902) who made the oft-quoted observation about the morally corrosive nature of being in power.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. (John Dalberg-Acton)
God in his Word taught us the importance of having a heart that is at peace with God and with itself, that longs for the establishment of God’s kingdom, rather than the personal exaltation into a position of power. Even if we gain power over just one other life, it is still a dangerous temptation to our hearts. If we had absolute power over another, would we use that power to harm them rather than to help them?
The wisest among us lives with a deep personal awareness of God’s authority over him, and seeks to control his own anger. Paul claimed power not to destroy others but to build them up (2 Cor. 13:10). The one who cannot control his temper will use his position to hurt others rather than to bless them.
May I say that the world today has enough selfish people already? We simply do not need any more. It is selfishness and selfish ambition that does so much harm in the world (James 3:16). The greater people on earth, the real quality people, are always those who work for the good and benefit of others, and not just for themselves. Better a man who works hard to provide for his family because he loves them, than the man who works hard strictly out of selfish ambition.
Better the person with a moral foundation, who seeks not merely to be in power but seeks to do right out of reverential fear of God, out of a sense of moral responsibility, than the person who just wants his own way. It is far, far better to play a small part in establishing justice than to play a large part in establishing injustice.
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalm 84:10)
Our spirit can only be ruled by our submission to the Holy Spirit of God. We by ourselves cannot rule our spirit entirely — only God can. Our role is daily surrender to him, to worship him, to love him, and to follow him.
Possessing a moral foundation requires us to put God first in each and every situation, to avoid the temptation to anger, pride, and self-glory. If we put God aside and make our lives all about us and getting our way in the world, we will hurt many people and be utterly miserable ourselves.
The ungiven self is the unfulfilled self.
Self-respect and respect for others go together. I do not believe it is possible, except superficially, to think well of ourselves and ill of our human fellows, or to think well of them and ill of ourselves. (Bonaro Overstreet)
