If you had power, how would you demonstrate that you have it? Or, would you not? One of my favorite Benjamin Franklin quotations is, “He who would live a life of ease speaks not all he knows or all he sees.” In that, Franklin spoke about the wisdom of not tipping your hand. Don’t show all of your cards as you play the game of life. If you do that, you are all about bragging, showing off, and putting yourself on a pedestal. You crave the attention of others, plus you misunderstand their gawking at you as admiration for you. But, far worse can happen if you reveal your power. Others will conspire to take it from you, and many of them will not tip their hand. You may not know that you have an opponent until the moment he crushes you and takes all that you have.

So, if you have power and don’t reveal it to others, then what good is it to you? The answer depends on your philosophy. People who use their power to advance others, especially those who are vulnerable and have no means to better themselves, shape a bit of the world to be kinder. By giving to others some of what you have, you receive satisfaction for having done it. I did not say that you receive grace for doing that, for grace is something you might receive when you do not deserve it. Similarly, you did not receive mercy, for mercy is not receiving something (a punishment) that you deserve.

Power is interesting, in that you can still have it even if you share it. There does not appear to be a quantity measure of power. Get your head around this: God, who has the power to create, has the power to destroy, also has the power to command obedience. There are stories in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible to attest to his having created, destroyed, and commanded (the Ten Commandments). Yet, the world is filled with people who disbelieve in him, disobey him, or ignore what he wants, even if they do believe in him. So, what is up with that? “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27, ESV).

In his own image does not mean only that people bear the likeness of God; we also have emotions, character traits, and motives that are his. People struggle to control these things (power) that they have. But, God has not rubbed out what he created. Consider that to be his mercy. We disappoint him, affront him, and work against him. We also do a great job at rubbing ourselves out (self-attrition), don’t we?

Perhaps God feels compassion for us, wants to give us time to understand the tragedy and the comedy of our lives. Some of us might begin to perceive his presence, understand how he controls within himself the emotions with which we struggle. For each of us and for him, such a wondrous day it is when we do something that pleases him, and he shares his grace with us. He does not brag, show off, or put himself on a pedestal for having done it. That is power! #TAG1writer.