Putting Power back into Empowerment

Do you work in a situation you feel powerless in? Do you work for a giant corporation? Do you work for a small business where you're micro-managed by the owner. Are you a stay at home mom who feels stuck, not because you don't want to be but because someone stole what made you feel alive in it?

What is power?  Here is the first definition that comes up from the dictionary. 1.ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something.
When we have power over our own lives we feel good and alive. When someone can exert unwanted power over us we feel controlled, manipulated and well, powerless. The thing that's interesting about power is like any tool it can be used for good or ill. With power we can force and compel people in a direction that oppresses or we can use it to set people free, to lift them up out of a situation they themselves don't have the power to do.

Now if you're a Christian like me you know and believe in a sovereign God who is in all, though all, and overall. . Here is how Jesus puts it. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. Mathew 20:25 In-light of that statement as Christians we have a choice to make. But first a couple of questions. Who has taken away your power and what are you going to do about it? Who have we taken power away from and what are we going to do about it?

As someone who has had managers over me, and have been a manager over others, I have been impacted by being empowered and having power taken away from me. I have also enjoyed the experiences of empowering others and felt the crushing weight of hindering them by taking control and power away.

If you are a leaders this is something we must be cautious of. As a parent or teacher or manager we have all had it within us to either empower those around us or suppress. When your daughter comes to you with an idea do you crush it or do you help her draw out whats good? When an employee makes a suggestion, do you smile politely and tell them why its not going to work or do you invest energy into finding whats good about the idea?

It is incredibly discouraging when you try over and over to make something better, to try and contribute something of use to only have it shot down time and time again. It is frustrating when you feel helpless to change anything around you. What happens then? We stop trying and more dangerously we stop caring. What is the benefit to a household or to a business full of discouraged people who have stopped caring? Now what if we flip this around? What if the people in your organization felt empowered, felt emboldened to care and dare? Can you imagine the impact on the organization and on each other and their community?

Have you ever been entrusted with a responsibility from beginning to end? Have you ever been asked what you thought about something by a boss at work? Have you ever been told you made a difference and your opinion was important? When you were down and hanging back, did someone invite you to the table and remind you that you can do it? Have you ever been told you were trusted and then had that trust demonstrated?

It's hard not to feel empowered in those situations. Not only that but its hard not to care about the unit you are apart of in that situation.The other thing is that empowerment and discouragement are both contagious. If you constantly crush the spirit of those under you they will eventually stay down because its safer and easier. I guess we got to ask ourselves, do we want those under us to feel beaten down or lifted up. When you lift up those around you I believe there are unceasing benefits and blessings.