SENTINEL WATCH December 31, 2007 Issue

TO RELY ON SPIRITUAL, NOT POLITICAL, POWER

ROSALIE E. DUNBAR, NEWS EDITOR

IF ONE HAD TO DESCRIBE in one word the lesson behind the devil's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (see Matt. 4:1-11), that word might be power. The real questions behind the devil's offer were: Who or what is going to have power over you, and do you want to have power over others so much that you're willing to corrupt yourself for it?

To Jesus, it wasn't matter for debate. His spiritual knowledge, even so early in his ministry, led him straight and true to the one God, the only God he would ever serve.

But not all have been so clear about the answer, and in recent weeks political maneuverings in different countries have exhibited the choices people in the public eye will make on behalf of power. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez learned a lesson when he attempted to rework his country's constitution to strengthen his grip on power. Wisely, the voters turned him down. In Russia, Vladimir Putin continues to consolidate his power, using the government's authority to assist his political party and limit the opposition for the upcoming election. Meanwhile in Pakistan, former general, now civilian, President Pervez Musharraf has given himself a lot of power, although he says he plans to give at least some of it back when what he perceives as a crisis is over. And in the United States, Republican and Democratic members of Congress have become so partisan in the effort to retain power, that one commentator described this as one of the least effective Congresses ever.

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