On The Journey Toward Right Use of Power

My early experience of power was the fear-based, coercive power of a fundamentalist institution. My angry reaction to the abuse leaked out in a studied avoidance of any institution where I could self-righteously excoriate the powerful. I happily used Henri Nouwen's frequent comments about downward mobility (consciously choosing not to act powerfully) as justification for my power avoidance. But gradually I have come to admit that power was a shadow I was afraid to embrace.
Power is good when we find our true identity within ourselves and offer our power as a gift to the world. Power is evil when we impose our will on others because we seek our identity outside ourselves. St. Paul says Christ empowers us in our inner beings to experience the fullness of God's love. That enables us to live with gentleness, patience and forgiveness within the diversity of community. Such a centered life is powerful and empowering to others.
Henri's words about downward mobility are important for those who have access to external power and who seek their identity through competition, prestige and security. But those same words can be hurtful to people without access to power. The marginalized need to embrace power. Not external power but the power to trust their own goodness and claim their rightful place in the world.
Whether we live in the corridors of power or on the margins, the way we use power is the key. We can rely on external power to impose our will on others in order to bolster our fearful selves, or we can live out of our inner empowerment. That decision makes all the difference.

- Susan M. S. Brown