Habakkuk, in his brief Old Testament book, tells us what he thinks of people who use their power to control others: "Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!"  I was once a very successful professor, and as a result, have a lot of experience with selfish, brutal people who care only about promoting and advancing themselves.  We look at the alternative, and that is rather than seeing our strength as our god, we can get our strength from God.  The result, as Habakkuk tells us, is that God rewards us: "God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places."