According to the polling website, Rasmussen Reports, at the last election, voters believed more strongly than before that the president of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. They see the position as the leader of the world community and that the level of power that is in the office is appropriate.
Since 2009, Forbes magazine has published an annual issue featuring the “World’s Most Powerful People.” Vladimir Putin of Russia has been awarded the recognition twice. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi top the list. The Forbes’ list not only includes political rulers, but also business executives like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
What makes a person powerful? We probably should think a moment about the difference between power and influence. Power forces people to compete a task, while influence leads them to understand why the task is necessary. In his latest book, Power: Why Some People Have It and Other’s Don’t, Jeffrey Pfeffer says there are two sources of power. The first is bases on a person’s title – the former position of power. The second is informal or personal power. This is not based on your position, but on your abilities, knowledge and skills. You have heard the expression, “information is power.” Are you perceived as being an expert in an area? Pfeffer says you have the power, the question is “Do you know how to use it?”
When things go wrong, or deviate from the prescribed plan, people assume things are out of control and the person in charge has lost power and influence.
In the Upper Room, the lives of the disciples are beginning to spin at an unmanageable pace. Does God know what He is doing? Is He still in control? Where is God when we are hurting? These important questions are a part of our obedience to God and our perception of His will in our lives.
The disciples had to be thinking, “What is our world coming to?” Jesus’ answer to the disciples is the exact answer that He would say to us today, whether we are contemplating wars, rumors of wars, or the coronavirus. The reality is we live in a world where Satan reigns. We live in a godless world. There is another force who is at work.
John records Jesus saying that Satan is the ruler of this world four times. When we are swamped with difficulties and challenges that rival the Old Testament character Job, we should not be confused about their origins. We live in a world that chosen to follow the wiles and the deception that is the Devil.
Sin has left its flavor on the world. Our own decisions have narrowed our choices while increasing our liabilities. When things don’t go the way we planned, let’s place the blame at the right place.
The ruler of this world has nothing to do with Jesus.
On the last Wednesday of Jesus’ ministry on earth, He seemed to spend the day wrestling with the prince of this world. Disciples arguing over who would be greatest, lessons about what it means to be a servant, predictions of denial and betrayal, and agonizing prayers in the garden seem to remind us that Satan has a stronghold on this world. Honor Jesus today by reading these important Scriptures, always remembering that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world: John 8:44-47, John 12:31-33, John 14:30, John 16:11, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 6:12-13, 1 Peter 5:8-10