In 1887, Lord Acton wrote in a letter:
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men (Powerful men} are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.” – Wikipedia.org (Words in parenthesis are mine)
125 years later with all the “advancement,” “progress,” “civilization,” or “technology,” his words still rings true. I have said it before and I will say it again:
“Man is best behaved when he knows that he is accountable to another.”
Yes, man needs checks and balances: a system whereby his actions can be called into account. He needs someone else to tell him that there is a line and that when he crosses that line, he would be held to account. No matter how wise or noble or good-natured a man is, he needs someone else to tell him when and where he has gone too far, otherwise his good assets could become a liability. Moses led the children ofIsrael
Let me tell you a story I heard from a friend years ago. It happened in the students’ cafeteria in school. There are many food outlets in one housing complex. The owners of these outlets each had boys and girls that serve as cooks, waiters and the likes. Sometimes, a boy or girl working in one outlet would leave there for another outlet in the same complex, maybe due to change in working conditions, downsizing of staffs or closure. There was this particular girl who left one outlet for another. In her former food outlet, the owner did not enforce strict accountability, the staffs had some liberties. For example, when she is hungry or she desires to eat, she can pick a fried meat from the counter and eat it quickly and no one will notice. But in this new outlet she moved to, the rules were different. The owner maintained scrupulous accountability. This girl was not aware of this, so one day, she was hungry and as before she went to the counter, as she was about picking a piece of fried meat, her co-worker who saw her quickly warned her: ‘Dem dey count am. Dem dey count am.’ This new girl quickly withdrew her hand. You might say that picking a small piece of meat is a minor offense. That said, it’s been written, ‘He who is unfaithful in what is least will be unfaithful in what is much.’ If she was allowed to continue on her course, one day she will come across something bigger and make away with it.
We all need accountability. Even the angels in heaven are accountable to another. The angels are created in hierarchies; it is not far-fetched to reason that this enhances accountability. The angels are free-spirited just like man and they too have a system of accountability. That was why when one of them erred and failed to heed to corrections, he was punished and also all those who chose his path were punished. Accountability is not lack of freedom. Accountability ensures that people exercise their freedom in such a way as not to infringe on the freedoms and rights of others. God is almighty and all powerful, but in his love, he bounds Himself with His standards. Whatever He does is always a reflection of His laws and principles. In the same light, he has put in place and allowed a system of accountability for all his creation, both in heaven and on earth. This ensures order and the universe bears the hallmarks of that order. Those who choose to set aside this arrangement only succeed in ensuring anarchy, discord and untold harm and destruction. No man should be left with no one to account to. Man has and will always abuse unchecked power and unlimited authority. The past 125 years after the words of Lord Acton were written bears testimony to the veracity of his statement: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men (Powerful men} are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.” – Wikipedia.org (Words in parenthesis are mine)
125 years later with all the “advancement,” “progress,” “civilization,” or “technology,” his words still rings true. I have said it before and I will say it again:
“Man is best behaved when he knows that he is accountable to another.”
Yes, man needs checks and balances: a system whereby his actions can be called into account. He needs someone else to tell him that there is a line and that when he crosses that line, he would be held to account. No matter how wise or noble or good-natured a man is, he needs someone else to tell him when and where he has gone too far, otherwise his good assets could become a liability. Moses led the children of
Let me tell you a story I heard from a friend years ago. It happened in the students’ cafeteria in school. There are many food outlets in one housing complex. The owners of these outlets each had boys and girls that serve as cooks, waiters and the likes. Sometimes, a boy or girl working in one outlet would leave there for another outlet in the same complex, maybe due to change in working conditions, downsizing of staffs or closure. There was this particular girl who left one outlet for another. In her former food outlet, the owner did not enforce strict accountability, the staffs had some liberties. For example, when she is hungry or she desires to eat, she can pick a fried meat from the counter and eat it quickly and no one will notice. But in this new outlet she moved to, the rules were different. The owner maintained scrupulous accountability. This girl was not aware of this, so one day, she was hungry and as before she went to the counter, as she was about picking a piece of fried meat, her co-worker who saw her quickly warned her: ‘Dem dey count am. Dem dey count am.’ This new girl quickly withdrew her hand. You might say that picking a small piece of meat is a minor offense. That said, it’s been written, ‘He who is unfaithful in what is least will be unfaithful in what is much.’ If she was allowed to continue on her course, one day she will come across something bigger and make away with it.
We all need accountability. Even the angels in heaven are accountable to another. The angels are created in hierarchies; it is not far-fetched to reason that this enhances accountability. The angels are free-spirited just like man and they too have a system of accountability. That was why when one of them erred and failed to heed to corrections, he was punished and also all those who chose his path were punished. Accountability is not lack of freedom. Accountability ensures that people exercise their freedom in such a way as not to infringe on the freedoms and rights of others. God is almighty and all powerful, but in his love, he bounds Himself with His standards. Whatever He does is always a reflection of His laws and principles. In the same light, he has put in place and allowed a system of accountability for all his creation, both in heaven and on earth. This ensures order and the universe bears the hallmarks of that order. Those who choose to set aside this arrangement only succeed in ensuring anarchy, discord and untold harm and destruction. No man should be left with no one to account to. Man has and will always abuse unchecked power and unlimited authority. The past 125 years after the words of Lord Acton were written bears testimony to the veracity of his statement: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
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