Jesus said that without the ‘power of the Spirit’, we should not even try to start working for change, lest we end up destroying the world that we are trying to create. (Luke 24:49) However, with that strong but gentle power, Jesus said, nothing on earth can stop us from embodying the kingdom of heaven on earth – neither lack of funds; nor lack of numbers; nothing. (Matthew 17:20)

When Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to incarnate the kingdom of heaven on earth, he imparted to them, what he called, ‘the power of the Spirit’. (John 20:21–22) This Spirit was ‘not a spirit of timidity, but of power, character-ised by discipline of self, and compassion for others’. (2 Timothy 1:7) So, as they opened themselves to this Spirit, it produced in them the strong but gentle power to control themselves, and to love others as they loved themselves.

Now most people who have been involved in trying to bring about change in the world would find it easy to accept Jesus’ idea – that power was the most important single issue in the process. But many would find it more difficult to accept the kind of power – ‘the power of the Spirit’ – that Jesus advocated. Not merely because of the spiritual language Christ used to describe the power he advocated, but because of the substantial difference between the dominant notion of power, to which many of us subscribe, and the alternative notion of power which he advocated.

There are two ways of understanding power.

Traditionally our dominant notion of power has been defined as the ability to control other people. The dominant notion of power emphasises the possibility of bringing about change through coercion – an approach that tries to make others change according to our agendas.

While the traditional dominant notion of power means taking control of our lives by taking control of others, Jesus advocated a radical alternative to the dominant notion of power – taking control of our lives, not by taking control of others, but by taking control of ourselves. This alternative emphasises bringing change by conversion – an approach that does not try to make others change, but tries to change ourselves, individually and collectively, in the light of a glorious agenda for justice. It breaks the control that others have over us and liberates us from our desire to control others.

The dominant notion of power is popular because it often brings quick, dramatic results. But the dominant approach to power is characterised by short-term gains for some, and long-term losses for everyone else. Every violent revolution there has ever been, has sooner or later – betrayed the people in whose name it fought its bloody war of liberation.

The alternative notion of power is unpopular because it is usually a slow, unspectacular process. But the alternative approach to power is the only way for groups to transcend their selfishness, resolve their conflicts, and manage their affairs in a way that does justice to everyone.

The essential problem in any situation of injustice is – that one human being is exercising control over another and exploiting the relationship of dominance. The solution to the problem is not simply to reverse roles, in the hope that once the roles have been reversed, the manipulation will discontinue. The solution is for people to stop trying to control each other.

All of us, to one degree or another, exploit the opportunity if we have control over another person’s life. Common sense therefore dictates that the solution to the problem of exploitation cannot be through the dominant approach to power – with its emphasis on controlling others.

The solution is in the alternative – the strong but gentle approach – with a set of attitudes, like the Be-Attitudes – which emphasise controlling ourselves, individually and collectively, through self managed processes and structures.

Some of us sincerely believe that if we are to help people, particularly the oppressed, we need to manage their affairs for them. But it doesn’t matter how we try to rationalise it, controlling others always empowers us and disempowers those we seek to help

The only way people can be helped, particularly the oppressed, is for them to be empowered to take control over their own lives. This is why Christ explicitly forbade his followers taking control over others, no matter how dire the circumstances. Their job was not to seek control over others, but to enable others to take control over their own lives. (Matthew 20:25–28)

It is a great irony to me that the greatest example we have in modern times of someone who did act on Christ’s advice, and practiced the Be-Attitudes like few Christians have ever done, did not claim to be a Christian. We need a lot more people who will experiment with the nonviolent revolution of ‘swaraj’ like Gandhi.

It is a pity that many of us who claim to follow Christ have not followed his advice. We could have been saved the crusades, the inquisitions and colonial religion.

It’s interesting to note that Christ and his disciples used organic images to describe how the ‘power of the Spirit’ – actually produce ‘swaraj’ or self control.

Self-management is de­scribed as the ‘fruit of the Spirit’. (Galatians 5:22) The capacity to manage ourselves develops quite unobtrusively – indeed, as quietly as fruit growing on a tree. The capacity to manage ourselves may develop unobtrusively, but is far more significant than we might ordinarily imagine.

Like a tiny seed, so small we can scarcely see it, that seems like it could never amount to anything great, the ‘power of the Spirit’ seems embarrassingly insignificant to begin with, yet grows into a capacity that is of tremendous significance in the end. (Matthew 13:31–32)

The capacity to control our own lives does not develop without opposition, but like a plant growing in the midst of weeds, ‘the power of the Spirit’ grows strong in an environment that could easily destroy it. (Matthew 13:24–30)

How the seeds of transformation, that bear the ‘fruit of the Spirit’, grow always was, and always will be, a mystery. (Mark 4:26–29) However, it is no secret that the seeds of transformation that bear the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ will not grow in our community if those of us, whose lives constitute those seeds, do not bury ourselves in the life of our community. ‘Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies it produces nothing, but if it dies it will produce much fruit, that brings much life to others.’ (John 12:24)

Dave Andrews

From Hey, Be And See (Authentic)