The power of clemency

God lets the sun rise upon the just and the unjust.

Power. It’s a hypnotic drug, able to blind individuals, families, community and nations. It causes abuse of all kinds. To learn what true power is all about, we need to read Wisdom 12: 16-19. For it says: But though you [God] are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind, and you gave your children good ground for hope…

If Christians followed this one bit of advice, we would change the world. We would demonstrate to all that true power is the ability to show patience and clemency. We would set the example that power means controlling ourselves, not constantly sitting in judgment over others.

But we too often think of power as the ability to “fix” things and set them straight. I want to right wrongs and punish the wrong doer. I want to make everyone understand as I understand, to learn from my mistakes and not their own. Yes, I even want to punish those thoughtless diehards who let others suffer so that they can rule and threaten and own. 

And yet, that is not the Christian way. You taught your people by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind. That is a big demand, a hard saying, a difficult precept to follow. But it is ultimately, gloriously, and fundamentally, the only true power.