Power Trip

So today, in my reading, I read about the Wise Men and King Herod. Both examples of men with power but such different ways that power is used.

They say (not sure who "they" is) that knowledge is power, so using that as a premise - I would venture to say that the wise men were probably men in their own right. They obviously had money to give Jesus the extravagant gifts that they brought. They were also well known or esteemed enough that a king would listen to them when they came into his country speaking of the messiah. They also showed that they were constantly listening and watching for words from the Lord. It seems the start they were following at first took a little sabbatical from the sky and them reappeared just when they needed it. Also they were obedient to the dreams that God sent to them when telling them not to return to Herod.

King Herod, probably one of the most powerful people of his time - at least in his kingdom. People feared him and for good reason. He was known for his cruelty. When he was threatened - he just removed the problem, just like he tried to do with Jesus, killing lots of innocent children in the process. NO regard for the hurt it caused others, just get what he wanted at any cost.

Since my brain is not on "fully functional mode" after the Christmas Festival this past week, I may not be looking at this clearly, but when I asked God what he wanted to teach me out of this passage in Matthew 2, I felt like the question in my life that I have to answer is "Whose example of power am I gong to follow with the power the I have been given in my life?" Am I going to be generous and constantly listening for God's direction, or am I going to preserve my "right" to power at all cost, doing detriment to people along the way?

Lord, help me to always listen to you and remember that any position you have given is yours and I should hold it very loosely in my hands!