Use Power Selectively – Use Love Liberally

FFPOWER is intoxicating as it produces result immediately. The effect of power is immediate like alcohol or drugs. It is therefore, difficult to resist the temptation of using power in order to produce quick results. Parents use power to discipline their children and force them to do something what the child does not want to do. Senior Managers use power to get the work done by their subordinates and these subordinate officers in turn use power to get the work done from their subordinates.

The game of power goes on in every organization and indeed in every family. In every set-up some people are more powerful than others by virtue of their physical power or wealth. People also acquire power due to their age in certain cultures where age and wisdom is revered. Even the weakest person in an organization may be the most powerful person in another setup. For example, even a lowest employee of an organization may be most powerful in his family.

However, the use of power always creates reaction in the people against whom the power is used. If the opponent is powerful enough to react immediately, he may fight back. However, even when the receiver is less powerful and no immediate reaction is made, the recipient keeps on finding ways and means to “pay back” the person who had used power against him.

Thus if we use power, we get result quickly but the aftereffect of power is quite damaging as power always creates hatred. These after effects are similar to the after effects of the drugs and intoxicants which causes permanent damage to body and mind. The hatred against the powerful does not diminish but keeps on accumulating and growing unless it is quenched by love and compassion.

Power and Love

Even though power always create reaction and hatred yet often it becomes necessary to use power. The terrorists and hardcore criminals can not be tackled except by the use of power. Only power can counter power in most cases. It is for this reason that “an eye for an eye” policy of the Bible continue to be the only method to tackle the powerful people as the “offer your other cheek” policy does not work in such cases.

Even though the use of power is considered “evil” while love has been considered “good”, yet both methods have survived the test of time. Thus instead of using only one of the two as a policy, one must learn to use both in an intelligent manner depending upon the circumstances.