Power expires. Friendships shouldn’t

The unsettling reality is that individuals who hold fixed-term public offices or privileged corporate positions often forget the friendships they once shared before their appointments. The contacts remain, but the bonds fade away. Colleagues who once collaborated on ideas, shared dreams and ambitions now appear unremarkable. Business partners are disregarded.

Requests for assistance become personal burdens rather than collaborative opportunities. Some even exhibit arrogance, convinced their positions have permanently elevated them to a different status. Foolish! The truth is, appointments end. Governments change. Contracts expire. Political fortunes flip. Familiar territory once enjoyed will eventually become foreign.

Security and luxury vanish, leaving a silence that's deafening. Individuals then scramble through their old contacts, yearning for those who once appreciated their efforts. They remember friends whose businesses could have flourished with their assistance. They rediscover relationships abandoned under the belief that their status granted them importance.

This isn't a condemnation, but a warning. Never mistake the office you hold for the person you are. An appointment is a temporary privilege, not a lifelong entitlement. The position is yours for a season. The individuals you encounter along the way are integral to your lifelong journey. If you meet entrepreneurs, innovators and dreamers, aid them where you legitimately can.

Open doors. Share opportunities. Make connections. Nurture enterprise. Do so ethically, transparently and without exploiting your position. You don't have to compromise your integrity to be a true friend. Eventually, you will vacate that office. When you leave, may you depart with your dignity intact, your conscience clear and a network of genuine friendships to remind you that your worth extends beyond your title. Power is a borrowed privilege. Humanity remains eternal.