If you haven’t read my previous installments on The Nine Laws, you can start here. In essence, I’ve read through The Nine Laws by Ivan Throne, and I decided that the book was interesting and impacting enough that I should go into a detailed breakdown of each law, and expound my opinion on how it relates to Christianity.
Today we’re going to examine the Seventh Law: Power.
If you haven’t read The Nine Laws (and I’d recommend you do), Mr. Throne explains the division and unity of Thought, Word, and Deed. He explains how ultimate purpose can be achieved when all three of these are in harmony.
On a more traditional philosophical level, these roughly correlate to Spirit, Mind, and Body. And as created beings, we are uniquely spiritual, in the sense that animals do not have Divine Purpose; they simply follow programming. Humans alone posses the faculties to connect with the Divine.
Since the Seventh Law is Power, we’ll address power in each of these three areas, as they are separate yet related. In our Dark Triad traits, Power manifests itself as:
Narcissism: Prerogative arises from possession.
Machiavellianism: Subtle tendrition arises from the core.
Psychopathy: Absence of ego in the cutting through.Note: When Mr. Throne speaks of the Dark Triad, he’s referring to them in the purest sense. We often see them used for selfish reasons, which is caused when one or more of the traits are abused or allowed to interact without restraint. However, most of the greatest men in history displayed all three of these traits prominently. It stands to reason that when used in the right proportions, for the right purpose, they are a maelstrom of natural force to be reckoned with. This is the goal Mr. Throne encourages us to attain: achieving our purpose using the Dark World’s own laws against itself. And the only way to do that is by understanding how the laws work.
We’ll work through the analysis of Power exhibited through Thought, Word, and Deed, because the Spiritual aspect of it, while being the least understood, is the most important. I want to make sure we address it fully.
Jesus touches on this idea (and a few others) in Luke 14:
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
Luke 14:27-33
On the surface, Jesus is explaining that those who follow Him must count the cost. But he also mentions that a wise king will consider his strength before going into battle. A wise builder will see if they can actually complete the project before he lays the first stone. Much in the same way, after we discover our God-given purpose and form it into a plan of action, we must honestly evaluate whether or not we can accomplish it.
Power, as a scientific term, is measured in the ability to do work over time. Which means it’s not instantaneous. A falling rock cannot generate power, it is only a transfer mechanism. Once it hits the target, it’s job is finished until something lifts it back up.
Producing power- work over time– requires fuel. It’s an ongoing process.
We’ll discuss the three aspects of Power and how they relate to Thought, Word, and Deed. Thought is where your ideas come from, Word is when you form it into a verbal plan, and Deed is when you physically carry it out. They roughly correlate to Spiritual, Mental, and Physical power, respectively.
Physical Power
This one is pretty simple: the strong will prevail. In a purely physical contest, the more powerful contestant will come out on top.
In a more practical sense, Power embodies the idea of being able to actually carry out what your purpose requires. Is your purpose to be a Firefighter? Then you have to be able to physically do what that requires. Want to be able to protect yourself in a fight? That requires a certain level of strength and skill. Want to become a successful stay-at-home mother? Then you need to have the stamina to take care of what that requires.
If you want to be physically powerful, you need more than just strength. You need endurance as well. (I know guys who are much stronger than me who can’t make it through a 1-hour aerobics class.) There is no reason why you shouldn’t develop your physical strength and stamina, even a little. Being stronger makes you healthier, more resilient, and ultimately, able to get more work done. Your purpose may not require you to be very strong- but it definitely will help.
You may have the most noble purpose and the best plans, but without being able to follow through to physical action, they are utterly meaningless.
Mental Power
This is the kind of power that allows you to take a gut feeling, an idea, or a purpose, and hammer it into an actual plan. In our trio of Thought, Word, and Deed, this is the part where you use your brain to forge a vision into words. By speaking it out loud or writing it on paper, you give it form and function. It still requires physically putting it into action, but at this stage, the idea is to forge a plan in an efficient, elegant way. This requires focus and the ability to do mental work quickly and correctly. In other words- Mental Power.
How can you develop mental power? Just like any other thing, you exercise it. Learn new things, do puzzles, practice focusing, and spend time honestly analyzing your performance.
To be fair, IQ (intelligence quotient) is a measure of a brain’s raw processing power. But usually, the data is custom tailored in ways that make it easy to process. True mental power comes from being able to filter through data and scenarios quickly, take what’s useful, and assemble it into a functional plan of action. That takes practice.
If you don’t cultivate mental power, you will end up having amazing ideas, but never figure out how to make them happen, or take years to do it and miss your opportunity. The idea of Mental Power is essential.
(After you read this, you may say “That’s good information! I should do something about it!” That’s the time to practice your mental power. Take that idea and make it reality.)
Spiritual Power
Now we come to the most difficult, and arguably the most important aspect of Power.
We are inherently spiritual creatures, whether you admit it or not. And Spiritual Power is something that you must learn how to harness if you want to realize your divine purpose in life.
The real secret, of course, is that as Christians, we understand that we do not have any spiritual power on our own- it is God’s power through us that is the real motivator. Any spiritual power we posses is only there because God loaned it to us.
But is there such a thing as Spiritual Power? Paul says in a letter to Corinth (emphasis mine):
Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. – 1 Corinthians 4:18-20
If you do not tap into this Spiritual power, then Paul says you are not part of the Kingdom of God! Are we talking about the power to heal people or raise the dead? Not necessarily, but that power does come from the same source!
When I think of spiritual power, I think of the underlying force that drove the early disciples to fearlessly preach and endanger their lives for their faith. They spoke with power- spiritual power– and because of that, they impacted thousands of people.
Spiritual Power is where your God-given purpose intersects with God’s will put into action. When you are doing what God made you to do, the way that He told you to do it, there is power in it. And make no mistake, there is power in being at the center of God’s will for your life.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
– 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
From this passage, it’s pretty clear that it’s the Holy Spirit that gives people the ability to do these powerful things. But specifically in verse 11: “distributing to each one individually just as He wills” shows that they only happen as God wills it. Therefore, it makes sense that the way to have Spiritual Power is to be in God’s will, doing what He’s called us to do.
We have no fuel- no spiritual power- on our own. But when we tap into God’s will and purpose for our lives, He gives us the power to make it happen, because only then is it God who placed that Thought into us in the first place.
Can people say “God gave me this idea!” from their own thoughts? Of course. But those ideas will have no power. As Paul said, “I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.”
Paul knew that if they were truly following God, there would be power in what they did. God is all-powerful, and embodies everything about power. Are we truly filled with the spirit and power of God? How do we separate that from the Power of men? Are they intertwined?
Power and drama are in direct opposition to each other. Power, in and of itself, is simply a force of nature. It is not good or bad, it just is.
Power with people, however, can easily be used for good or evil. If God gives us power, we should expect to use it for Good, as we discussed in our previous installment about freedom.
The application of power and prerogative is my God-given birthright. When I follow God’s purpose, I have power.
A Moment of Introspection
As usual, I ask myself questions and try to answer them honestly.
- Where is power hindered by an apology?
Anywhere that someone else tries to take it away from you. Power is not a zero-sum game: you cannot gain physical, mental, or spiritual power by stealing it from someone else. Never apologize for being powerful. - How do I apply power or restraint?
I don’t have a defined way to do this. Usually I go along with whatever’s convenient. But ultimately, I should know when and where use of power is appropriate and necessary. - What power do I truly posses, and would it remain if were stripped naked?
My greatest power is in my mind, but I am learning to rely on Spiritual power more and more, and letting everything flow from that. Neither my mind nor my body are as strong as I want them to be. But Spiritual power cannot be taken away- only relinquished voluntarily. - Where in my life do I choose restraint and regret instead of exercising power?
Probably in my career and my creative life. I’ve harbored regrets my entire adult life about not being able to create, for the sake of a steady job. - Where does emasculation fester in me, and is it voluntary or forced?
Most of my lack of masculinity is from fear. Fear of not being liked, fear of offending people, fear of taking myself too seriously. I don’t disagree with masculinity, but sometimes I hold back when I fear something negative will come of it. I need to learn to overcome this. - Have I ever had a pure expression of power without ego?
I’m sure I have, but not that I can remember, because I wouldn’t have made a big deal of it. What would that even look like? How have I been tested? I don’t know. - Dissect my greatest power. What is left if that is gone? Identify 3 alternate sources.
Right now, my greatest power is mental. If that is gone, I still have physical strength. I still have the ability to support and protect myself. I have some money saved up (and money is a source of power). Most of all, I am still in God’s will in most areas of my life, and so I know I will be able to accomplish what He wants me to.
For more reading on Ivan Throne’s The Nine Laws, you can go here:
The Nine Laws: A Book Review