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Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

"Methuselah was 187 years old when he fathered Lamech. Methuselah lived 782 years after the birth of Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Methuselah's life lasted 969 years; then he died.  Lamech was 182 years old when he fathered a son. And he named him Noah, saying, "This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the LORD has cursed." Lamech lived 595 years after Noah's birth, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Lamech's life lasted 777 years; then he died.  Noah was 500 years old, and he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the LORD said, "My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years." The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men." [Gen 5:25-6:4 HCSB]

Observations: 

  • What choices were made? 
    • God chose not to give "the law" to humans during this long period of time. I think we often forget about this since it is almost two thousand years of history represented in two short chapters of the Bible, but these chapters are the record of God choosing to give humans complete freedom... no law. No ten commandments. Just the freedom to make choices. There is part of me that wishes that God gave us a more detailed and in depth history of this point in time. 
    • Men chose to become corrupt. God said, "My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years." These words  clearly communicate that God holds humanity responsible for their corruption. 
  • What were the short term results of the choices that were made? 
    • God empowered human beings to a large extent (He gave them lots of choices and very few restrictions), and human beings for the most part became corrupt. There were a few shining exceptions (Enoch and Noah), but mostly the power corrupted. 
Applications:
  • Today, does absolute power corrupt absolutely? 
    • Yes. Every time. No exceptions. I could give so many examples of this, many of them current and political. I think this is one of the reasons God gave humanity the law through Israel. And then He sent Jesus. Jesus is our example of using power for the good of others, for using power to change and battle corruption, for walking in humility and meekness and love. Honestly, I think all power has to be used with love and with truth, otherwise it corrupts. Otherwise, crazy things happen. 

Thoughts, Observations, other Applications? Questions? 

I hope you have a beautiful day! 
-Jordan
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