Have you ever noticed that when a topic or question comes up once, it seems to pop up again and again? I’ve found this to be true and often wondered if this is what it takes before I ‘wise’ up and pay attention to that particular issue.

At a recent Bible study group, we were discussing what and whom we considered ‘important, powerful and influential’. It seems that for most of us, we view those who have great wealth and those in positions of what we class ‘importantance’ as those who have power.

Those mentioned were people who head large corporations, government officials, and those who have accumulated tremendous wealth.

We recognize the names of individuals who have made the ‘news’ sometimes for the good they have done, sometimes for the bad decisions they have made, and sometimes for promises they have either made and kept or made and broken.

Is such recognition what constitutes ‘power’ in our world? Is having status in the eyes of the world the same as having recognition in the eyes of our God?

I’m don’t really think I have the knowledge to give an answer to that, but I will share my opinion for your consideration.

There are many people with great power and wealth who have given much to make life better for others. And, there are those who we consider humble and often lacking in material things that have also contributed so much to our world.

For instance, there are the philanthropists who build schools, hospitals, and other things that benefit others. There are also those who give so much…maybe not in monetary way, but they possess knowledge and by sharing that knowledge, they have changed lives for the better. And often they give freely of this knowledge without consideration of personal gain. Gifts shared can be monetary but they can also be gifts of kindness and caring.

So in essence wealth really isn’t the criteria for judging true ‘power’.

I’d say it is what we do with what we have that puts us on the path to the type of power our God would have us wield.

Mother Theresa changed the lives of thousands of poor, afflicted individuals and the power of her ‘love and commitment’ makes us honor and revere her.

On the other end of this spectrum, there are those who dream up Ponzi schemes and make fortunes for themselves at the expense of others. I’d guess they too had ‘power’ but they used it in the wrong way. .

When I find myself pondering this concept of influence and power, I try to think about how God would view these so called ‘gifts’.

I think of how Jesus called His disciples from what most folks called the ‘ordinary’ people. I try to imagine Him as He traveled about teaching, preaching and healing. Did He appear, for the most part, in fancy cathedrals, places of influence, governmental offices? Or did He reach out to everyone? Did He consider the beggar, the leper, and the blind as unworthy of His presence? Or, did He interact with any and all of God’s children?

Did He view everyone as a child of God? Did He look at a child and think they weren’t worthy of His attention or did He ask that the little children be allowed to come to Him. And did He welcome them and draw them close?

I’d make a guess and say that in reality, most of us aren’t important in the eyes of the world, but that in God’s eyes we are all blessed to be called His children.

Are we going to spend our time and whatever wealth we have to climb the ladder of popularity and influence, or are we going to look to Jesus our Savior, and emulate lives of love, service, forgiveness, and commitment?

Perhaps we may never reach positions of worldly recognition and power, but we may be instruments of God’s love in a world that seems to be a very dangerous place where many people are hurting.

The question we need to ask ourselves, (in my opinion) is “Are we following the example of Jesus and trying to live in His way or are we caught up in the ‘things’ of our world and longing to be one of those who throngs admire for what we can give them or what they believe we can do.

I am not denigrating the use of any talent God gave anyone and the benfits using such talents bring. Many people have gifts that I can only admire and sometimes I might long to have just such abilities. I am only asking how we view ‘power’ and can we honestly say that it isn’t always the rich and famous who bring joy into the lives of others.

Jesus' message to all of us is that we are loved ‘each and everyone’…the rich, the powerful, the sick, the poor, the helpless…He died that we might have eternal life and if in such a sacrifice we see weakness we are wrong. We should see not helplessness, but the greatest love and ‘power’ that ever existed.

In the weeks ahead as we listen to the news of famous individuals, politicians, actors, and others, let’s just remember that while we may not be important in the eyes of the world, we have the ‘power given us by Jesus, our Savior’. And with that power, each of us can use our gifts to make a difference in our world.

The power we have may not be worldly and recognized by the news medium, but we’ll never know what a difference we can make until we unleash the tremendous power of God’s love in a very troubled world..