Whatever my aims and agendas were, I never asked for power.

Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of destiny and martyr of her people, once declared: “Whatever my aims and agendas were, I never asked for power.” In this confession lies the distinction between ambition for self and service for others. For power, when sought as an end in itself, corrupts; but when it is given as a burden of responsibility, borne for the sake of justice, it becomes a noble calling. Bhutto reveals that her striving was not for domination, but for the fulfillment of duty to her land and her people.

The essence of her words is humility before the throne of responsibility. To ask for power is to hunger for privilege; to accept it without craving is to stand as a servant of destiny. Bhutto’s life was scarred by exile, persecution, and ultimately martyrdom, yet she held to the belief that leadership must spring not from selfish desire, but from necessity—when history itself calls the unwilling to stand.

History shines with parallels. George Washington, after leading his people through revolution, was offered kingship, but refused. He did not ask for power; rather, he accepted only the presidency, and only for a season, so that the republic might stand. His greatness lay not in his victories alone, but in his reluctance to cling to authority. The world remembers him not as a tyrant, but as a founder who chose service over personal ambition.

So too in the ancient world, Cincinnatus of Rome was summoned from his plow to serve as dictator in a moment of peril. When the danger had passed, he returned to his fields, content in simplicity. He did not ask for power, yet his name endured as a model of civic virtue. His example, like Bhutto’s words, teaches us that the noblest leaders are those who step forward not from desire, but from duty.

O children of tomorrow, remember this: let not your hearts crave power for its own sake, for it shall consume you. Rather, prepare yourselves to serve, so that if destiny calls, you may carry authority as a burden, not a prize. For true greatness is not in the seizing of thrones, but in the willingness to rise when the people need you—and to lay it down again when the task is done. Bhutto’s words ring like a bell of warning and hope: seek not power, but purpose, and power will find you only when it must.