Who’s Got The Power?

The following is a chapter from the book Money, Sex, Power & Faith.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln

Our imbalanced sexuality, as well as so many of the imbalances in our society, arise from man’s lust for power and demand for control… or perhaps it’s the other way around. From our control over the fairer sex to our control over nature to our control over one another, including the beliefs we hold and activities we engage in, we have been largely consumed by the need to exert our power over others, yet we also exhibit incredible feats of heroism and inspiration as we demonstrate power over ourselves.

As we embraced a patriarchal hierarchy, the development of money has been used as a method of having power over others since the onset of its use. Similarly, even as we began to settle into our separated, sedentary plots of land, we began to exert our power over the earth and those who shared it with us. From there, we have extended our power to manipulate the world through machines, mechanizations, mastery, and might.

Individually, we draw on power to operate our computers, cars, homes, and tools, and, more personally, to control our own emotions, expand our own educations, craft our own bodies through diet and exercise, and cultivate our own spiritual development. Politically, we extend power through industry, governments, media, and religion…