"The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." - Mark 1:22
"The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves." - Jesus, Luke 22:25-26
"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. - God, Genesis 1:28
"Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." - God, Genesis 3:16
It is no wonder that the issue of power and authority is so messed up. Jesus teaches with authority, and tells His disciples to be different. Human beings were created with authority in creation, but the Fall added a dynamic where human relationships were going to be sinfully immersed in power struggles.
Add these passages to others about apostolic authority, church leadership, and you get a challenging way forward in areas of leadership and faithfulness in our spheres of influence. What does it mean to lead? What does it mean to serve?
Then add our own cultural biases. We may be a democracy, but Western thought was born in monarchy, and many monarchy-based paradigms still exist. One key element to a debate is to appeal to an authority; in other words, we quote sources. I couldn't write a paper in college or seminary without quoting other works. On facebook, one can click a single button and share sources with their online community (the "share" button).
I don't have a problem with authority, most of the time. But I am also in a place to be benefited by authority. I have cultural authority (a title and a degree), religious authority (ordination) and the unheard of authority to talk to a group of adults for 30 minutes a week without interruption. Not even CNN can boast 30 minutes, they have advertisers who break in.
Having authority is a scary thing, when you think about it. It is awfully easy to arrange my authority to benefit me. It is easy for me to get my needs met and forget about the rest of the population. I don't think Jesus had that model of authority in mind when He taught with authority. I think that's what Jesus had in mind when He said "Don't be like that." Jeremiah talks about authority gone amok in this way:
"A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?" - Jeremiah 5:30-31
When we forget that our authority is meant to be used on behalf of the least, that last, the lost and the marginalized (see Luke 22 passage), we end up serving ourselves. We devise lies that hold a comfortable status quo and we forget that we derive all authority from a God who is constantly on the move reconciling ALL THINGS (Colossians 1:20) to Himself. Allow me to leave you with this quote that I think represents the best of what God-given authority does:
"If your success is defined as being well adjusted to injustice and well adapted to indifference then we don't want successful leaders. We want great leaders - who love the people enough and respect the people enough to be unsought, unbound, unafraid and unintimidated to tell the truth." - Dr. Cornel West, Christian philosopher and activist.
Biblical authority is not about being successful, it's about being great.
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