Step Two Hundred and Seventy


Step 270. With Power Comes Responsibility.
With power comes responsibility. Knowledge will empower you, and you must be responsible to Knowledge. That is why you must become a follower. By becoming a follower you become a leader, for you are able to receive and you are able to be guided. Thus, you will teach others to receive and provide guidance for them. This is a natural extension of the gift that you are now receiving, which in time will find expression through you in your life.

It is very important that you recognize the relationship between power and responsibility. Responsibility requires self-discipline, self-restraint and self-control. It requires an objectivity about your own life which very few have yet attained in this world. Responsibility is a burden until it is recognized as a source of protection. It is the guarantee and the assurance that your gift will find a wholesome and welcome expression within you and that you will be advanced and accomplished by the rendering of your contribution.

It is very common in the world that people want power without responsibility, for their idea of freedom is that they are not beholden to anything. This is utterly counter-productive and has very dangerous consequences for those who persist in attempting it. You who are a student of Knowledge must learn to accept the responsibilities that are given to you, for they provide the protection and the guidance that you need so that you may develop appropriately, positively and completely. They are the assurance that your preparation will yield the great result that it is meant to yield.

Think of this idea upon the hour and do not forget it today. In your deeper practices, think very carefully about what this statement means. Think of your ideas about power and recognize how much they need responsibility to a Greater Source in order to be utilized and expressed appropriately. These two practice periods will be times of mental activity and application. Think very carefully of all your ideas surrounding the lesson for today. It is quite essential that you examine your own thinking and beliefs, for you must understand your current mental make-up in order to realize its impact upon your outer life. Today’s lesson may seem sobering at first, but in time it will give you the confidence and the assurance that you will need to progress wholeheartedly.

Practice 270: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.


Here you will find the entire book free for download http://stepstoknowledge.com/

Here you will find pointers for getting started if this is your first encounter with this practice: Taking the Steps to Knowledge.

March 2, 2014 Round One: As I did this Step, the thought that came forward was – if only our leaders would do this – take responsibility for the power they have instead of abusing it. To my mind, this is the greatest folly of mankind, the fact that people have been unable to use their power in wise ways, without feeling that being in a position of power gives them license to do as they wish, that they are not beholden to anything. On the contrary, having power means practicing more restraint, more control, more discipline, being more objective about things and not seeing things from one’s own selfish viewpoint. I don’t really know what power I have, I don’t feel as if I have very much, if any, but I certainly wish to use whatever power I have wisely and for the benefit of all. I understand what this Step is saying about taking responsibility for one’s power, using it wisely, using it appropriately. I wish Knowledge to find a wholesome and welcome expression within me and through me. I wish to be guided by Knowledge in the most beneficial way.

May 7, 2015 Round Two: I continue to see how easy it is to abuse power if you let it go to your head. I continue to see that the combination of wisdom and power is something sorely lacking in the world. I continue to understand that whatever power I may have or acquire as I continue to take Steps to Knowledge must be used wisely, with a deep appreciation of the responsibility it entails. I am beginning to understand and experience the self-discipline and restraint this requires. It is like a deep surging river making its steady and unobtrusive way through a gully in the rocks. The power is not obvious, but the river continues to flow steadily and steadfastly on.

April 4, 2019 Round Three: This is a pithy Step and I am not sure if I understand it completely. Responsibility is a burden until it is recognized as a source of protection. It is the guarantee and the assurance that my gift will find a wholesome and welcome expression within me and that I will be advanced and accomplished by the rendering of my contribution. What does this mean? I don’t know how this applies to my life today. This Step requires mental activity and application. I am to think carefully about what it means. I think it means that being responsible does not give me the power to act arbitrarily, it requires special focus and a narrow channel for contributing my gifts. I am not free to act as I will. My power needs to be channeled in the right direction and in so doing I have the assurance that my contribution will find its wholesome expression. 


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