Two Kinds of Power: Why Love Is Stronger Than Control

We are living in a moment where power matters more than ever. But there are two kinds of power: the power to control and the power to love. Which one shapes your life?

The world feels unstable. Wars are happening. The cost of living is rising. Systems we assumed would last now feel like they are starting to crack.

So we ask: what kind of leadership do we need?

But underneath that is a deeper question.

What kind of power do we believe in?

Because whatever we believe about power will shape what we look for—and how we live.

From the very beginning, the Bible names something in all of us.

We want control.

We want to be able to do what we want, when we want. And our culture tells us that is exactly what success looks like. You’ve “made it” when your will becomes reality.  

But imagine a world where everyone lives like that.

The Bible does. In the book of Judges, we are told that everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  

It is not a picture of freedom. It is a picture of collapse.

So societies respond by creating authority—governments, laws, systems—to restrain evil. And that matters. In a broken world, we do need structures that limit harm and hold people accountable.  

But here is where we go wrong.

We start to believe that this kind of power is the answer to evil.

That if we can just get strong enough leaders…

If we can just defeat the bad people…

Then we will have peace.

That story is everywhere. It is the logic behind so much of our culture. But it is a lie.

Violence cannot redeem.

Jesus makes this clear. When Peter reaches for the sword, Jesus tells him to put it away. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.  

History keeps proving this true.

We tell ourselves that if the “right side” wins, everything will be fixed. But the deeper problem remains.

Because the problem is not just out there.

It is in here.

As Solzhenitsyn said, the line between good and evil runs through every human heart.  

That is why power alone will never solve the problem.

And if we are honest, we feel the pull of that kind of power ourselves.

There is something deeply attractive about the idea of being able to do whatever we want. To go where we want. Buy what we want. live on our own terms.

That kind of power is seductive.

Which is why Jesus offers something so different.

He looks at his followers and says:

Not so with you.

The world uses power to control.

Jesus uses power to serve.

The greatest, he says, will be the servant.  

And then he takes it even further.

Whoever wants to follow me must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.  

This cuts directly against everything we are taught.

Our world says: follow your desires and you will find life.

Jesus says: follow that path and you will lose your life.

Real life is found the other way—through surrender, through love, through giving yourself away.

This changes how we understand the church.

The church is not meant to copy the world’s power structures. It is meant to be a different kind of community.

A place where authority is not about control, but about love.

A place where people care enough about each other to speak truth—even when it is hard—because sin destroys life.

A place where decisions are not imposed or ignored, but worked out together.

Jesus gives the church the responsibility to discern what is right and wrong—to “bind and loose.”  

That means we cannot just copy the past.

And we cannot just follow our feelings.

We are called to do the hard work of becoming a community shaped by Jesus.

That requires trust.

And honesty.

And courage.

Because the truth is, the church has not always done this well.

But the answer is not to walk away from it.

The answer is to become the kind of people who make it trustworthy.

Because this is the kind of community Jesus is forming.

A community shaped not by coercive power, but by love.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered as king—but not the kind of king people expected.

He came gentle, riding on a donkey.  

Not to dominate.

But to give his life.

This is the power Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about:

Hate cannot drive out hate. Violence cannot drive out violence. Only love can do that.  

And this brings it back to us.

Because in uncertain times, fear pushes us in a particular direction.

To protect ourselves.

To secure our future.

To look after our own.

But the way of Jesus moves in the opposite direction.

Toward love.

Toward neighbour.

Toward self-giving.

Whenever the church has been at its worst, it has turned inward.

Whenever it has been at its best, it has loved outward.

There were times in history when disease spread and people ran.

Christians stayed.

Not because it was safe.

But because it was love.

And that is the invitation now.

Not to ignore the brokenness of the world.

But to live differently within it.

Because in the end, there are two kinds of power.

One is the power to control.

The other is the power to love.

And only one of them leads to life.