Invisible - Part 2
Many great men (and women) have said something to this affect: "Give someone power, and you will test their true character." Our friend and president Abraham Lincoln was one of the first to allude to this. Most of us would not abuse the gift of literal power. We probably wouldn't oppress the poor with our power, or make laws to only benefit ourvelves - at least I sure hope not! Institutional power may not be the issue. But there is a far greater force that can sweep over nations and change history. This power cannot be tamed if it develops the right steam. Such steam is not hard to garner, and can quiety grow in velocity. This is the force of unspoken power. Such power is not legal power, or related to structures or institutions. However, it is power that we voluntarily give and receive. It is the power within our hearts. It is the power that places value on celebrities, or sports teams, or authors, or television personalities. It is the power that we give to those we deem powerful, whether or not they ask for it. It is the power we receive when people admire us or choose to become our little disciples - I mean minions.
People seem to change with power. It's the little things. I know people in different crafts and pursuits. Five years ago, they related to people differently. They were genuinely interested in people. They cared for people. They loved people. They served people beyond their girlfriends, boyfriends, and family members. Five years later, they have built a tiny world for themselves - people know them, people applaud them, and people acknowledge them. They have become gods among men. HAHA. Well at least gods among their circles. They have become bettter dressed. They care about things they would laugh at before. Just the little things. It's not that they have an oversized Ego - but they have an oversized appetite for things they cannot chew - for things they do not know - and for foods that have no identity.
You can tell you have fallen by a very easy litmus test - see how much you truly care for people and things outside of your own, little tiny heart. See how often you think of things bigger than yourself. When you are talking to people, is there anything genuine about yourself? Is there anything that can capture your attention besides your emotional state - besides what people think of you? There is a component about unspoken power that takes a variety of shapes and forms. This component is called PRIDE. Sometimes we are so unaware of pride because it is the most curious forms of sin. It stands waiting to swallow any willing party - and you can even have a huge heart to be swallowed. Pride kills all men and women. Pride is the worst of all the enemies. Pride is everyone's downfall.
Examples of pride can be surprising. It's prideful when you pull out your iphone when among company. It's prideful when you act like you are busy when you know you check everyone's facebook pages every 5 minutes. It's prideful when you look like a businessman on your blackberry when you are really checking twitter or linkedin - or whatever nonsense social media the Devil lured you with. It's prideful when you act nonchalant but inside you are an existential mess. It's prideful when you relate to people like a character on "Sex in the City." It's prideful when you can't go deep into peoples' hell and rescue them from the miry pit that they are in. It's prideful when you are not a minister. It's prideful when you can't be an ambassador of love at all times. It's prideful as HELL when you constantly think of your calling as a means to achieve some sort of validation. It's prideful to put anything above God. It's prideful. It's all prideful.
Don't think people don't notice your pride. They notice it. Be very careful. Invisibility is an art. It is not false modesty. It is not covering up your true self. It is being hidden in a God who will reveal you only when He chooses to reveal Himself (Colossians 3: 3-4). If this is not the pattern, then you are nobody. If you are revealing yourself, you are a waste of space. You have achieved your prize already, and the sad thing is - no one can tell what the prize is. Stay small. Peace and much love to you - Jeevo
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