Strong Men and Power Vs. Weak Men and Power: The Respect For Power That Comes Because of the Struggle

Dr. Erskine: A Good Man

“This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man know the value of strength. And knows compassion.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing, That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.”

Abraham Erskine and Steve Rogers, “Captain America: The First Avenger

Too often, we have grown comfortable witpower after being used to powerlessness, and we allow that power to grant us legitimacy, and we never get healed in our heart, our mind, and/or our spirits.

I think G-d wants to grant us His power and his authority, but He wavers when it comes to granting power to those who are not yet healed or who rely on their own talents, powers, authority, ability, skill in order to create a place where they feel legitimacy.

It is a hard place to be when you trust to your own design and then lose respect fot the power that comes with that design.

But when you allow Father regular and constant input into how you use and allocate the gift of your design (which is one way to define humility), then you are capable of executing when you need to execute, and you are capable of restraining when Father wants you to restrain.

Sure, you can fix a problem, but the question is, “Should you?” And what are the effects that will roll out if you solve that problem for others, instead of allowing them the opportunity to struggle for the solutions? Are you shortchanging others of the struggle they need to earn, not only the power to solve a particular problem, but also the respect that comes with struggling for the power that will ultimately come with mastery.

Sometimes, G-d allows us a struggle so that we earn respect and cultivate humility that is critical in order to skillfully weild the power to [fill in the blank].

“I’ll tell you the probelm with the scietific power that you’re using here. It didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You know, you read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don’t take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even know what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you are selling it. [Your scientists] so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t bother to stop and ask if they should .”

Ian Malcom, “Jurassic Park”

The Single Prerequisite To The Office of a Prophet

And do not get me started on how it is love in this context.
Love is the most important thing, true.
However, let me highlight one aspect of love.
The most important prerequisite for one who walks in the office of a Prophet is humility.
Let me say that again for those who prophesy in the political arena all sorts of outlandish things and then refuse to retract what they have said and then instead choose to heap outlandish thing upon outlandish thing.
Let me say it for those who think I am speaking out against one side of this issue and fail to see there are more than two sides to the political debacle in this nation I call home.

Prov. 22:4 The reward for humility and fear of the L-RD

is riches and honor and life.

Prov. 15:33 The fear of the L-RD is instruction in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

Prov. 18:12 Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,

but humility comes before honor.

Zeph. 2:3 Seek the L-RD, all you humble of the land,

who do his just commands;

seek righteousness; seek humility;

perhaps you may be hidden

on the day of the anger of the L-RD.

Acts 20:19 serving the L-rd with all humilityand with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;

Eph. 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Phil. 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Col. 3:12 ¶ Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

1Pet. 5:5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The prophet of the L-rd humiliates himself or herself. I know four men thus far that consistently have carried this quality: Jeff Sickler, David Falls, Arthur Burk, and Loren Sandford. As to women, I know four thus far that for certain I would place on that level. Pam MacNelley, Carlene Prince, Wendy Falls, and Sandy Landry.
Period, inclusive of all people I know.
The prophet of the L-rd does not arrogate him or herself.
The prophet of the L-rd publishes confessions saying they may have gotten this or that wrong, and they do not hedge or qualify this or that thing with a “wait a minute, this is a qualifier for that previously unqualified word I gave”.
The prophet of the L-rd embraces love as their lynchpin, and humility as their needle and thread for everything they craft.
Paul’s attitude in 1 Cor. 4 is worth your imitation.
And yes, I know, sometimes prophets can get flamboyant, especially those with the Redemptive Gift of Exhortation.
But, there is always a willngness to apologize.
There is a quickness for self-examination and instrospection.
This quality is what makes relationships possible and strengthened for the prophet.
Commit those passages to your memory if you think you are summoned to the office of a prophet, and meditate on them.
“What does it really look like? What do I really need to understand?”
Resources for this topic:
The Elijah Task by John and Paula Sandford
Elijah Among Us by John Sandford
Understanding Prophetic People by R. Loren Sandford