[ARTICLE] Power, Politics & Leadership [Participate in Politics or Be A Victim of it] by Korede Komaiya

God Is a politician.
One of the greatest mistakes you will ever make in life is to assume that politics does not exist and that it plays no significant role in your life. Wherever there is leadership and power, the protocol of politics naturally implements.

Matthew 5:13-14 describes every believer as the salt of (he earth and the light of the world. The life pf a believer Is to emit sweetness where there is bitterness and tastelessness; light where there is darkness confusion and lack of direction. One of the parables of Jesus Christ in Luke 19:13 taught us to occupy till He comes.

As believers, we are an army of occupation, and the purpose of our occupation Is to take over. We are to occupy in fashion, politics, entertainment, government, IT., education, etc as ambassadors of Christ. We are to represent Christ until He comes, and representing Christ in any field you find yourself Is the reason you will take over that field.

For example: representing Christ in politics.is the reason you will take over politics. Representing Christ in governance is the reason you Will take over government. Representing Christ In the economy is the reason you will take over government. Representing Christ in medicine is the reason you will take over medicine. Representing Christ in sports is the reason you will take over the spOrt industry. You are not working in the bank to make money; you are working ‘to take over the banking industry. You are not in the muslc and
entertainment industry to make money; you are in the industry to take over. You need a takeover mentality. Survival is not your portion, takeover is your assignment.

THE TOOL YOU NEED TO TAKEOVER
The tool required to take over and be on top of your game is WISDOM
Proverbs 24:5-6 [ERV] “Wisdom makes a man more powerful. Knowledge gives a man strength. Get good advice before you start a war. To Win, you must have many good advisors·

Proverbs 24:5-6 [GNB] “Being wise is better than being strong; yes, knowledge is more important than strength. After all, you must make careful plans before you fight a battle, and the more good advice you get, the more likely you are to Win”.

Wisdom is better than strength. A lot of people think it is strength they need to takeover. Wisdom is what makes a man powerful. It is Impossible to takeover without wisdom. Wisdom is the real power and strength, and it is the key to takeover.

In taking over new territories, you need to understand power play. Many a Christians don understand power-play. They don’t know that every time you are going for power, you need politics; this is a fundamental factor a lot of believers don’t factor in their pursuit so they end up committing political, career professional and business suicide, leaving their dreams and aspiration in a dead zone.

Can you survive in the corridors of power? Do you understand power play? Can you function where positive and deadly politics is being engaged?

You can never ever get power if you don’t understand politics; this Is where wisdom comes in the equation. Politics is a part of life. There is no place you won’t find politics. A lot of people are gifted but on the floor, talented but on the floor, called but on the floor, sometimes anointed but on the floor because they lack wisdom. Nothing compensates for lack of wisdom; even vision will not, because vision nee s wisdom. That you have a legitimate call into ministry will not compensate for Wisdom.

Proverbs 24:5 [GNT] “Being wise is better than being strong; yes, knowledge is more important than strength.”

Every time you are going for a strong office or position, wisdom is the pathway. When strength resists and power blocks you, your victory is hidden in wisdom: wisdom is your only advantage. Wisdom Is knowing the right thing to do and doing it at the right time; It is discretion, to be tactful and not to be tactless.

1 Samuel 18:14-16 (KJV)
David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.”

POWER FEARS WISDOM! David was not near King Saul in power and authority. Saul had power, authority and influence: In his pursuit to eliminate David, he saw that David behaved himself wisely; scripture holds true that Saul became afraid of David. Here is an established truth:
• Power fears wisdom
• Power respects wisdom
• Power honours wisdom

The LORD was with David while he behaved himself wisely. When you are wise, you command divine presence.
There are lots of highly talented young men who are going nowhere; they simply lack the required Wisdom to manage the play of politics around them. POWER FEARS WISDOM! Stop saying they hate you or there is tribalism, it is wisdom you lack. Joseph gained command in a foreign land by the economic wisdom he displayed that the King seeded his authority to him except for his throne [Genesis 41:39-42]. From now until eternity, POWER FEARS WISDOM.
One of the greatest mistakes you will ever make is to assume that politics doesn’t exist. There is politics wherever in life; Politics is to achieve power, and you trust be armed with Wisdom not to be a victim of its play.

God is a politician. ln case you have been given a wrong definition of politics, you need a better perspective. Politics is the interplay of interest. After Satan did all he did, God still had interest to save humanity. Just because me there are wrong approaches to politics does not mean politics is evil. You can’t have a share in the market if you don’t know this truth. You can’t dominate and takeover if you play ignorant to this reality. You must master organisational, relational, family, interpersonal and global politics.
THREE REASONS FOR POLITICS
1. To get power
2. To sustain power
3. To transfer power

Anywhere you see power, politics is active. If you must engage politics efficiently and effectively,you need to be armed with, wisdom. No matter how closed a place is, wisdom is the pass code.

TEN ETHICAL POLITICAL TACTICS AND STRATEGIES
1. Display Loyalty – You are engaging In healthy politics when you display loyalty, There is no alternative to this as the disloyal has no future anywhere.

2: Manage Your Impression – I have seen a lot of people use words like, “I am a realist, if I am not happy, I say my mind; “there is nothing wrong in saying your mind, it’s only that you will never go far if you are such a person; it means you are not wise.

Proverbs 1.7:28
“Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent”

Fools always open their mouth to say their mind. You can’t give an impression that you are not supportive and expect to receive the reward of those that are supportive.
Impression are deliberately managed; they are deliberately created. Stop creating a wrong impression about yourself, and
when Interpreted right, you start blaming. Manage your impression very well; it is part of healthy political strategy.

3. Be a Problem Solver – Your relevance is in the problems you are solving. You Will be as relevant as the problem you solve and irrelevant as the problems you don’t solve.

4. Add Value – Please, add value anywhere you are.

5. Engage the Power of Honour – You must master honour if you must rise anywhere you are.

6. Be smart and Proactive – That is, you have insight foresight and capacity to take initiative.

7.Be Grateful – Never be a complainer or someone who murmurs.

8. Praise and Appreciate Sensibly – Never forget the special days of your leader and the celebrations of influential people. Praise sensibly. It is better to overdo than not to do at all.

9. Be Mentored – Who is teaching you?·Whom are you learning from?

10. Build Power Contacts – Everything working is connected. Only the wise builds power contacts. You need to understand the mystery of networking so you can increase your net worth. If yoµ must have power contact, you must build power contact, you don’t have power contact, because you never built one.

UNETHICAL POLITICAL TACTICS
1. Backstabbing – You can’t back-stab anybody until you pretend to be nice to the person. You say something nice before the person and say otherwise behind.

2. Setting a Person Up for Failure – Joseph suffered this in the house of Potiphar. Daniel also suffered the same – where laws can promulgated to trap a person.

3. Divide and Rule -Using the same people against themselves.

4. Territorial Games – Where they hoard information and block access. To some people, politics is their territory; they control a particular section of it, when you want to be anew entrant without one of them taking you in, they activate their game to deny you access.

5. Demolish – It Is to out rightly destroy a person. Sometimes the weapon of scandal, blackmail, misrepresentation of what you said is deployed; in addition, they trap you with believable lies simply to eliminate you.

People can be so wicked and subtle; you need wisdom to scale the subtlety and wickedness of men.

POLITICAL BLUNDERS TO AVOID
There are political blunders you must avoid if you must take new territories;
1. Criticising your boss or leader publicly

2. Dishonour for leadership and influential people – It was only in the Law of his God they were able to track Daniel, yet he Was delivered because he has never swindled the king.

3. Putting your foot in your mouth – It is to be blatantly tactless. In relating with powerful and influential people never be tackless.

One of your greatest wisdom tests is that of CORRECTING UPWARD: It can be easy sometimes to correct someone under you, and someone at your level with all the complications that comes with it. Correcting someone ahead of you might actually be your downfall.

Never correct upward if you are not an extremely wise person, you may not recover. There is the wisdom, maturity and experience require; above all, there is an approach required, and It is your approach that will terminate your reproach. If you don’t have the right approach you will end up in reproach.

God will never forgive rebellion. God Is the King of the universe; He could have commanded the entire nation of Egypt to sleep and give His covenant Children, Israel stress-free exit into the Promised land; but He never did. He commissioned Moses to ask Pharaoh to let His people go. God respects hierarchy; He is the source and author of hierarchy.

God is methodical, Satan is chaotic. If you can correct upward wisely, you are one of the wisest people on earth.

4. Disloyalty

THE MASTER KEY
Genesis 39:2
“And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian:”
Your covenant relationship with God is of utmost importance. You and God is majority; you and God cannot be defeated You and God cannot be stranded. You must understand the dynamics of the covenant and have a personal walk with God.
Wisdom and divine presence is all you need to take new territories.

Korede Komaiya (KK)
June 2020
Connect via @koredekomiaya on all social media

The publication above is the personal opinion of the writer.