Saturday, April 12, 2014

No Need to Ask: Why We Want Authority

Sometimes I wonder why people have such a need for authority. Common decency and friendliness is all most people need to find themselves in a co-operative mood. And the closer the relationship, the less need for authority. So who needs authority? The person who doesn't want to have to ask; who just wants what he wants when he wants it.

Asking others for help or co-operation requires humility. It's easy to command people to act as we want them to, but having to wait for others to respond takes patience, kindness, and goodness, not to mention the risk of a rejection. Hence the need for that coveted authority. 

But how does God deal with us? God has all authority; does he force us to repent? No. He waits patiently, and lets his kindness do the job (Rom 2:4). Of course God isn't a pushover; there is a definitive moment when he lets us have what we deserve, and it can come as suddenly as rain on a summer's day.

If God doesn't force us to act the way he wants us to, why do we all clamor for authority in our own lives in order to force others to act the way we want them to act? Because we all have this thing called the "flesh" that makes us self-seeking. 


We want what we want, when we want it, and we don't want to have to wait or ask.

But that is not God's ideal, for love is patient and kind, it is not rude, or self-seeking. Instead, love protects, trusts, and hopes (1 Cor 13:4-7). It treats others the way it wants to be treated in return (Matt 22:39).

In the Kingdom of God, those who clamor for authority are the ones who still have not understood the meaning of true life and how it is found. It is by losing our lives that we gain it; not by clinging to it with all of our might (Matt 10:39); we can't carry the cross ourselves if we expect others to carry it for us.