There are two kinds of power. One comes from loving other people, and the other comes from selfishness. In essence, these two kinds of power are complete opposites.
When our power comes from loving other people, we wish well to everyone. We love nothing more than doing useful things for other people and helping them. (Helping other people is doing good and useful things for them from good motives.) This is our l ove, and it is our heart's enjoyment. When this is our state of mind, we are glad when we are placed in a high position--not because of the high position itself, but because we can be useful in many more ways, and on a larger scale. This is the kind of po wer that exists in heaven.
But when our power comes from selfishness, we do not wish well to anyone besides ourselves and our family. We do useful things only to increase our own status and fame, which are the only things we consider useful. We work for other people only to ge t them to work for us, and to gain status and power. We strive for high positions not for the good we can accomplish in them, but so that we will be prominent and famous, which is our heart's delight.
73 Our particular love of power stays with us even after our life in the world is over. If our power comes from loving other people, we are also given power in heaven. However, it is not we ourselves, but the good and useful things we love that have the power.
