Adam was on top of the world until….Eve gave him the forbidden fruit to eat. They disobeyed God and were forced to leave the Garden of Eden.
Moses was on top of the world until….he did not speak to the rock as God ordered him to. He lost his leadership and died without ever seeing the Promised Land.
King David was on top of the world until…..he committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then he had her husband Uriah killed in battle to cover up her pregnancy.
Cyrus the Great was on top of the world until…. he was captured and killed during a frivolous war against the nomadic, savage Massagetae tribe.
Alexander the Great was on top of the world until…..he incurred severe battle wounds, got malaria and died.
Julius Caesar was on top of the world until….he accumulated absolute power and declared himself dictator for life. Then he was stabbed to death by Brutus.
Attila the Hun was on top of the world until….he got a fatal nasal hemorrhage on his wedding night. He died and his sons then fought to control his empire.
Genghis Kahn was on top of the world until…..he fell off his horse, contracted a severe fever and died.
Napoleon was on top of the world until….he lost the battle of Waterloo. It ended his return to power. He was forced to abdicate and spent the rest of his life in exile.
Adolph Hitler was on top of the world until….he lost one battle after another in his conquest of Europe. When all was lost, he committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin.
The Virgin Mary was beyond her years in wisdom. As a teenager, pregnant with Jesus, Mary proclaimed in her Magnificat to her cousin Elizabeth:
“He has forced proud rulers from their thrones and given power to the poor.” Luke 1:52
By Medard Laz
My Commentary:
History is crowded with men who seemed, for a moment, to stand on top of the world.
Adam, Moses, David, Cyrus, Alexander, Caesar, Attila, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler lived vastly different lives. Some accomplished great things; others caused terrible suffering. Yet their stories share one sobering truth: human power never lasts.
Kings lose kingdoms. Generals lose battles. Empires collapse. Bodies grow weak. Crowns pass to someone else. Sometimes leaders are destroyed by enemies; sometimes by circumstances; sometimes by their own pride, appetites, and terrible decisions.
The danger of power is that eventually a person can begin believing they are above the rules that govern everyone else.
Christianity offers a radically different understanding of greatness.
Mary, a pregnant teenager with no worldly power, proclaimed in her Magnificat that God “has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” Jesus later warned, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?”
Those words should echo through every palace, legislature, corporate boardroom, presidential office, and place of authority today.
Power itself is not evil. Power can protect the weak, establish justice, create opportunity, and serve the common good. The question is what we do with it.
Jesus possessed authority, yet washed His disciples’ feet. He taught that whoever wishes to be the greatest must become the servant of all.
That may be history’s greatest warning to every powerful person:
The higher the throne, the greater the temptation to believe it belongs to you.
It doesn’t.
Leadership is temporary. Power is borrowed. History eventually renders its verdict.
And ultimately, so does God.
What lessons does history reveal to YOU about power and leadership in our world today?
THE MORE YOU STUDY THE LIFE OF JESUS, THE MORE YOU WILL BE IMPRESSED WITH HIS ABSOLUTE, GENUINE LOVE FOR ALL PEOPLE.
Did you enjoy today’s story and Message? Then please share it. www.TreatsfortheSoul.org. Please invite others to subscribe. IT’S FREE!! They will thank and bless you for doing so. And please listen to my Podcast.
