POWER
A few months back I got a piece of physical mail. Not an item I had
ordered on-line but an actual letter from my grandmother! I was not
expecting anything from her and my curiosity reached an all time high. I
opened the 4x6 envelope and reached in and pulled out a folded paper.
It was a copy of a poem that my great(x3) grandfather used to quote all
the time. (Grandma knows I have a weakness for family history and all
things pertaining to family history.) At the bottom she writes, "...it
really is a poem to commit to memory and live by. Thought you would
enjoy. Love, Grandma". I agree it is a poem to commit to memory and live
by, so I share it with you.
Power to rule is deadly stuff.
Few are granted sense enough
To possess it and to stay
Wise and humble, day by day.
Given the might and given the chance,
Men are prey to arrogance.
Ever since the race began
'Tis the history of man
Power is evil's greatest source.
Kings have fallen in its course.
Good at first, when rightly used,
It is vicious when abused.
Something seems to blind the eyes
When to awful power men rise;
Deafens them to mercy pleas;
Maddens them to snatch and seize;
For some selfish end they seek
Makes them brutal to the weak.
Power to rule upsets the mind,
Checks all thought of being kind;
Leads to judgments harsh, unfair.
Power is mankind's deadliest snare
Few for long, the truth to tell,
Have the sense to use it well.
Power
(by Edgar A Guest)Power to rule is deadly stuff.
Few are granted sense enough
To possess it and to stay
Wise and humble, day by day.
Given the might and given the chance,
Men are prey to arrogance.
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| Image from http://theoracle.cc/2012/01/06/what-makes-ministry-effective/ |
Ever since the race began
'Tis the history of man
Power is evil's greatest source.
Kings have fallen in its course.
Good at first, when rightly used,
It is vicious when abused.
Something seems to blind the eyes
When to awful power men rise;
Deafens them to mercy pleas;
Maddens them to snatch and seize;
For some selfish end they seek
Makes them brutal to the weak.
Power to rule upsets the mind,
Checks all thought of being kind;
Leads to judgments harsh, unfair.
Power is mankind's deadliest snare
Few for long, the truth to tell,
Have the sense to use it well.