Sadly, this world is full of authorities, some are good, a lot are bad, most are abused. Our parents are authorities, some of them are good authorities, some of them are not. the basis of authority is derived from to key aspects... 1) real authority is right! in order to be a real authority, you must know what you are talking about. most people claim to be an authority, but they are usually showing their ignorance by the things that they say. They spout off at the lips without giving any concern to where their information came from. in order for a persons authority to be right, they must get their authority from right personal experiences, or as is most often the case, someone who is smarter than they are. 2) a real authority is based in love! in order to have authority, a person must care about what they are talking about, and the audience they are talking to. You cant have real authority and not care about the subject, as real authority is derived from a constant examination of what we know to be true.
This world is full of ignorant people that claim authority that is not theirs... It is also full of people that are in a position of authority but have not earned or validated their authority... There are many fathers out there, both young and old, some of these fathers are vigorous in their pursuit of being a good father, guardian and role model, some are not. lets face it, most are not. For generations, maybe from the very beginning, some men have abandoned their positions as fathers while others have tried to be good fathers. Sadly, over the generations, men have not taught their sons how to live, much less how to be fathers. So the young men in this generation are finding themselves in the position of not be an authority on anything, not having a role model, not knowing how to be fathers or husbands, and being in the situation where they find themselves fathers and husbands. How can they be expected to succeed with absolutely no clue what they are doing. Fixing this problem will involve two things. 1) fathers wanting to be fathers and seeking out gods word. 2) godly men being called as mentors.
In a world where men have forgotten how to be fathers, and by extension how to be real men; what can be said about women? Pretty much the same thing sadly. Many women have gotten involved in feminism, this is a damaging world view if ever there was one. It is just as impossible to be an independent woman and a Cristian as it is to be an independent man and a Christian. Every time I hear the phrase "I can do it myself I'm an independent woman!" my stomach turns. This view is the devil playing on our past to destroy our future. Nobody likes being told what to do, or how to live, and many of us have been hurt by people who abused their authority, but the bible and history make it clear that when we rely on ourselves we fail! We are not independent, we need god! We need to depend on him. In our weakness, he is strong. As real men and women of faith, he is the first thing we should trust in, and we should always avoid the chance to place our trust in ourselves. how often does that work out badly?
real authority comes from God, he is the author creator and finisher of both this universe and our individual faith. If your authority comes from him, you can be safe in knowing that it is both right and based in love. We as his people need to fight the urge to be the God of our own life, and leave him in the seat of authority that is his alone.
Now that we have discussed What authority is and who it belongs to, the discussion turns to our individual authority. Where does it come from and how can we use it effectively. First, our authority does not always come from God... But it should. We are often put into positions of authority, sometimes randomly or based on seniority. If you have worked at a Job for awhile you may be in a place of authority over some of your co-workers. sometimes this is because you know more than they do, and this should be the basis for a mentoring relationship where you invest your knowledge in them by spending time with them and instructing them. other times, you are in a position of authority due to favoritism and or random factors. in these situations you are in authority, but you may not be an authority. as Christians it is our responsibility to live up to the position we hold, and not to abuse our privilege as it is given to us. a good man does not lead others astray. However, in opposition to this worldly authority, which is often an illusion, the authority that we have spiritually is granted to us by God through Christ. Our authority, comes directly from Jesus, because it is his authority that he shares with us. this authority supersedes the authority that we can earn, steal, or borrow in this world. Because it is granted to us, it is not earned, and does not belong to us, but we can use it freely, so long as we use it correctly. the bible says that is better for a false teacher to be tied to a millstone and thrown into a lake compared to what god has in store for him on the day of judgment. we need to constantly be proving ourselves by improving ourselves in our understanding of scripture and love and truth. We have been given authority over all things, authority to save, in some cases to curse, and in all cases to show and share gods love and Jesus sacrifice with others. lets do our best to show ourselves to god as people that are approved , as workers who need not be shamed, as we rightly handle the word of truth.
