Domination is the religious version of dominion. The seven instruments of domination that we are about to discuss are therefore the religious brand of the seven instruments of dominion that we discussed earlier.
Now, a Kingdom-citizen can easily be tempted to satisfy his instinct to be in control by using these religious or human means of taking charge in this life. But, dominion is true power and domination is false power. Please understand that, the tendency for dominion within all humans can be exploited by Satan, who tries to give mankind his own version of authority or ruling on earth. Domination is not how to seek the Kingdom or make it come in your day-to-day life.
Beloved, the seven religious tools of being in charge that you should avoid are as follows:
1. Manipulation – Prov. 26:18-19; Hab. 2:15; Eph. 5:3-4.
Manipulation is playing cleverly with human life or with people’s destinies. To a manipulator, life is play or sports and human beings are toys that he plays with at his pleasure.
A manipulator therefore plays with people’s minds, emotions, will etc to his advantage. He deliberately uses gifts, lobbying, bribery, marketing techniques, unbalanced sermons, his weaknesses or strengths etc to control people to his advantage – Ex. 23:8.
These may sound okay to the religious-believer because it is a human behaviour. However, to the Kingdom-citizen, it is evil and devilish. There are even people who deliberately put a ceiling or limit, spoken and unspoken curses, on other people’s blessings, callings, ministries and churches etc; just because they
are offended at them.
Beloved, you cannot be biting and devouring people because of your ego or because they are not towing your line, or helping your vision – Gal. 5:15. Do not limit people for whom our
dearest Jesus shed His Royal Blood to liberate.
Yes, it is evil to consume people’s potential because you are hurt by them. Please release them and genuinely wish them well, and you will be children of the Most High God – Matt. 5:45. You know, our God makes His sun and rain (essentials to human life) to come on both the thankful and the unthankful, the good and the evil – Lk.6:30-37.
My friend, you did not create people or die on the Cross for them. So stop destroying them and controlling people, bringing them down to their knees before you with your position or function. This is false power. Even our Lord Jesus said that if people did not obey Him, or share in His vision, He did not take it personally against them – Jn.
12:47; Rom. 14:1.
Manipulation is man’s religious effort at showing where power lies. So, come off it and show Kingdom-love instead. You will be amazed at how all will end well for all through love.
2. The second evil instrument of domination or showing power is witchcraft.
Witchcraft is possessiveness, but in the Kingdom of God, you possess nothing, including people like your husband, wife, children, church members etc. In fact, everything you are and have is actually for our King Jesus – Jn. 13:3.
But, witchcraft is a desire to be in charge, with every other person under your feet for the fulfilment of your will, ambition, or pleasure.
It is using people and dumping them; leaving them spoiled, half-fulfilled or half-empty, something that Jesus did not do. That is partly why He chose only twelve Apostles instead of two hundred apostles.
It is because of the added responsibility of fulfilling them, and not leaving them regretting. He had to account for each of them to God – Jn. 17:6-13. Witchcraft is a craft i.e. a profession or activity that requires skill and training. People actually learn directly and indirectly to dominate others.
The root of the word translated ‘witchcraft’ in Gal. 5:20 is ‘pharmakon’ and means a ‘spellgiving potion, druggist, Pharmacist’. Witchcraft has its origin in the carnal human nature – Gal.5:20. In other words, mankind has an innate proclivity to employ self-promotion, self appointment and territorial
preservation in life. These three are all signs of witchcraft.
David was tempted to obtain dominion over Israel through witchcraft. In other words, although he could have manipulated events to make himself rule when Saul was alive, he did not do that. It is because mankind was created to rule or be on top that you must beware of witchcraft.
You must get to the top through the kingdom-ways of God, and not the religious or human ways. These human logical ways may seem okay to you, as long as it promotes the work of God to a measure, but it does not please God. Moreover, such a tendency can easily degenerate into occultism power.
At this point, witchcraft becomes a controlling spirit. This makes you so jealous that nobody can have anything without you. Everything is all about you and your input; and without you, God’s people are in ‘trouble’ because it is all about you.
Beloved, you must steer clear of this counterfeit spiritual power. Just as in the natural, God has designed it, that a time comes that a child who is matured leaves his parents, so is it in the spiritual – Gen.2:24. He is still a son, but the relationship is not the dependent type, but the interdependent one – Lk. 6:40.
3. The third evil instrument of domination is: the use of fear and threats.
God woos us with His love. After the Cross, we do not have to be frightened to obey or respect somebody. God wants a love response from us, not a fear response. Fear, threats, bullying, issuing woes, anger and disqualification does not transform anybody in a kingdom-way which is a permanent way – Jas. 1:20.
It is actually a sign of weakness or lack of Kingdom-power to employ fear, terror and threats. After the Cross, your words should always be full of grace, spiced with salt, with ability to preserve everyone – Col.4:6.
4. The next instrument of domination to avoid using to control people is: money.
Money is great to have, and can be useful in fulfilling your life’s assignment. But, when it is used as a means of controlling needy people, it is most unfortunate – Prov. 22:7; Lev. 19:13b.
When people are poor or needy, they will usually do anything to come out of it. This propensity is propelled by man’s in-built desire to be on top of his needs, fully in charge of them, instead of needs controlling him.
Be careful not to negatively exploit this. Give people what they need without ‘forcing’ them to kowtow to you. And you too, be careful not to be bought by money – Gen. 14:22-24; Prov. 23:1-3, 6-7.
Your value is far higher than all the riches in this world, so do not sell yourself short. Your mind and emotions are more than the wealth of the world. The fact that you are needy does not mean that, you should believe and agree with everything your prospective benefactor says, even when it is bad.
Overcoming poverty does not mean dance to the evil tunes of the rich, and laugh without provocation, just to patronize them, in their unrighteousness. Some people see no evil with anything you do just because you feed them occasionally.
Some will laugh at your jokes which are not even funny just because you employ them – Prov. 19:4a. Maintain your great spiritual and social values, and do not sell yourself short, like Esau did – Heb. 12:16-17. If you are rich be careful not to use your wealth to oppress the poor or take advantage of them.
Give people their due respect, because they are made in the image of God. You cannot make people feel bad for not having as much as you do. It is in bad Kingdom-taste to be reminding people of what you have done for them, just to control them against their inner will.
5. The fifth instrument of power to avoid its use in dominating people is: the supernatural.
The first qualification for leadership or being in power is character and not spectacular supernatural giftedness – 1Tim. 3:1-7; Lk. 12:42-44. It is therefore counterfeit spiritual authority when you use the spectacular-supernatural to get people into subjection and followership.
If you are moved to get devoted to people because of the miracles they perform, you can easily be deceived. Actually, Jesus did not commit Himself to people who believed in Him because of the miracles they saw Him perform – Jn.2:23-25. He knew that people like that were not correct inside.
He therefore avoided them, and did not give Himself to them. That is the place of signs and wonders in the New Testament. God does not seem to be moved by them, unlike mankind – Matt. 7:21-23. Do not be swayed to be great in the sight of men, because of what man deems as signs of greatness.
You are great already in Christ, because He already gave you His great name and identity. Just do the will of God for you, and do not focus on greatness before men.
6. The fear of man is the next instrument of domination you should not use.
This is the use of natural things like ones age, gender, skincolour, exposure etc to control people. You cannot think of men above what is written about them – 1 Cor. 4:6. The fear of man can trap you in mediocrity and idolatry – Prov. 29:25. Apostle Paul was concerned about people thinking of him above what he really was. Obviously, he was resisting people deifying him – 2 Cor. 12:6.
You cannot be afraid of people, even when they sound and act as the ‘chief advisers of God’. Do not live as if people owe you. The fact that you helped somebody does not mean he owes you his life and mind. His life is for God, so he should live it first to God and to you by the will of God – 2 Cor. 8:5. This does not mean that you should not appreciate what people do for you.
You should remember people who have been of help to you, but not to the point of disobeying God for them, should it come to that. No one can harm you if you are a follower of that which is good – 1 Pet. 3:13.
Also, you cannot take advantage of people because of your familiarity, to spoil their name, or provoke them to lose their temper or get discouraged or get little for you to get ‘big’ – Lev. 18:6, 10; Col. 3:21.
7. The final tool of dominating people that a Kingdom-person should steer clear of is: the use of superior knowledge.
A kingdom-citizen cannot take advantage of people’s ignorance, weakness or ineptitude and mental handicap to control them –Lev. 19:14. Limiting or withholding relevant information from people in order to make them dependent on you is not the kingdom-style of Jesus – Jn. 15:15.
What you need to do with your superior information is to help people with it, and improve them, not to show off with it – 1 Cor. 8:1. Do not let your knowledge puff you up with pride in your dealings with other people. This pride will let you want to control them.
But this control will not edify them. Rather, it is when you relate with people in Kingdomlove that you can be a real blessing to them.
