Cincinnati is a beautiful city sitting on the banks of the Ohio River in southern Ohio. Founded in 1788 it was named in 1790 after the Roman hero Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus by Arthur St. Clair, a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Formed at the end of the revolutionary war the members wanted to emulate the great character of its namesake who had been given dictatorial powers to save Rome and then voluntarily surrendered the power and returned to his farm. Naturally George Washington was the first president of the society because of how he emulated the great Cincinnatus when many wanted him to become a king. Instead of another King George, the U.S. ended up with an elected president.

Living in a time when glory hounds are honored and promoted it’s a genuine pleasure to learn about people who refuse to give in to the temptation of self-promotion. As the American presidential race seemingly never ends in our highly politicized society we’re bombarded with self-promoters. May God raise up a genuinely humble leader we can all rally around.

One such person is found in the story of David as he returned to Jerusalem after Absalom’s rebellion. That man, Barzillai, had been instrumental in supporting David and his entourage while in exile east of the Jordan. He continued that support and aided David as he returned and prepared to cross back over the Jordan. David tried to talk him into coming to Jerusalem but Barzillai refused. His response to David was that he was too old to have any interest in all the things involved in hanging out with the king (2 Samuel 19:31-39).

Cincinnatus walked away from glory and power in his prime. He was 62 at the time and lived to reach 89. There’s a lovely statue in his honor in a park on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati. Barzillai was 80, well past his prime, when he refused to pursue power at the side of the king. The fact that they rejected the opportunity for self-glorification is a great example for us today.

Power hunger rising from arrogance and pride isn’t exclusive to the aged. Plenty of people in their middle years, say 30 – 60, think they have all the answers and could solve all our problems if put in charge. Thank God we’re not, I mean, they’re not. But wouldn’t it be nice if the self-promoters who have been polluted by decades of political power would step down and voluntarily relinquish their accumulated power? What an example they could set. Maybe that would encourage some of us younger folk to become less enamored with seeking power for ourselves and simply seek to serve others instead.