All of my life, it seems, there have been people in authority over me. It started when I was a baby and it has continued in various forms since that time. Authority figures include teachers, hockey coaches, policemen, tax collectors, elected officials and, most of all, God the Creator. I always had the feeling that I was never alone—“Big Brother” was watching me—unseen angels if nothing else.

I recall a humorous incident while attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Anchorage, Alaska. We were on the sixth floor of Captain Cook Hotel visiting a coupleand, as we glanced out of the window, we could see the children of this couple coming down the sidewalk. All of a sudden, the boy gave his sister a push and she was off the sidewalk and into the street. There was no immediate danger, but there was traffic. You should have seen the look on the face of the boy when they arrived at the hotel room and his father took him to task for pushing his sister out into the street. We never did tell him that we saw it from the sixth floor; it is a position of power parents hold when they mysteriously “know” about some incident that was to be a secret.

Types of authority

I have come to realize that we can never fully escape having someone in authority over us. Our wonderful nation of Canada is led by officials who have the power to do things in spite of the opposition of the people. We are told that we can wait until the next election if we do not like the way things are run. Though we live in a democracy, all of us know that those running for office are first and foremost concerned about getting elected. There are some exceptions, to be sure, but we have witnessed many not-so-wonderful examples of elected authorities that had no time for the average citizen, except when it came to voting and elections. In almost every case in which authority exists, it seems people blindly serve the authority; at least that has been my experience.

Parental authority should include a deep love for the child and is directed towards the well-being of the child, but even that is given from the point of view of the parent and is often abused. I recall the time when I decided I had enough of the low pay-scale jobs and began to take steps to start attending university. My father told me to think seriously about this move because I already had two children for whom I was responsible. Of course, he was right, and I gladly accepted that responsibility, but they were one reason I strongly believed I needed to do something more with my life. It was for their sakes as well as my own.

Jesus had a lot to say about “masters” or those in authority. In Matthew 23, He began by telling His followers that they were to heed those who sit in the seat of authority (Matthew 23:3), but not to do as they did. Verses 4-7 describe the desire some in authority had to be greeted with great respect and honor. (I find within myself that I could never address the mayor of our city as “your worship” and I cringe at that title.) They expect the best seats and they make decisions that add burdens to the lives of those they control.

One example that comes to mind is the manner in which King Rehoboam rejected and discarded the advice of his counselors to lower the tax burden that his father King Solomon had placed upon the people of Israel (I Kings 12:10-14). This resulted in a revolt and the house of Israel was torn asunder and it has remained so ever since.

Democratic authority

We like to say that democracy is “by the people and for the people,” but all of us who live in a democracy realize that this is not true for all of the people. Winston Churchill, the great statesman of the preceding generation wrote, “Many forms of  government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Will Rogers stated, “One of the evils of democracy is you have to put up with the man you elected whether you want him or not.” Jawaharlal Nehru stated, “Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse.”

All of these voices, and more, are stating the obvious. When there is human authority, the citizens (by and large) serve that authority, even in a democracy. Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. wrote, “Since the beginning of time, governments have been mainly engaged in kicking people around. The astonishing achievement of modern times in the Western world is the idea that the citizens should do the kicking.” We who live in this democracy know all too well, though, that this is just an idea; we are still often kicked around.

Godly authority

Jesus Christ introduced a different idea to the world. Instead of people serving the authority, the authority was to serve the people. In Matthew 23, Jesus berated those in authority and told those who were about to be in authority to shun the titles of office. If they really wanted to be great (in the eyes of God and most of their fellow humans), they were to become the servants of all (Matthew 23:8-11). Jesus said we are all “brethren.” We play different roles in life, but not lesser or greater—just different. This area of life has long been the struggle of women,who are often the oppressed. We do state in our democracies that the government officials are the servants of the people, but we people know that for servants, they carry big sticks.

In God’s system, there is authority and we are to be subject to it. Paul wrote about the need to be subject to rulers and authorities and to obey them (Titus 3:1). That does not mean blindly following them. Obedience to God always takes precedence, and Paul was writing to converted people who had to live in this world and in its systems.

God does give roles of authority to His followers. He designed parents to have authority over their children, for example, and commanded children to be obedient to their parents (Deuteronomy 5:16). He also placed people in positions of authority within the church (I Corinthians 12:4-11, 18; Ephesians 4:11). God selected certain people to write the books of the Bible. He designed people so that the very young are to learn from the older ones who ought to have grown in grace and knowledge to the point that they could be wise sages.

Authority is always present in God’s realm. That is the one authority that we should all accept. Wonderfully enough, God is a loving Father and although the ever-supreme authority, He is the example of complete service to and for the people. He gave His only begotten Son so that we might be saved (John 3:16). His authority is for our good. His authority serves the people.

Jesus’ followers strive to be like Him and like God (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 2:6). He gives us a guideline or beacon to zero in on as we live our lives. We, too, need to be on guard against that old adage, “Power tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Bishop Mandell Creighton).

Any human to whom God gives authority can fall back into the trap of misusing that authority so that it is no longer truly “for the people.” Paul knew that (2 Corinthians 2:11; 12:7). Paul had great authority and power, and a thorn to remind him to stay humble. It is high time that authority began to serve the people instead of people serving the authority in this world. We pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” It can be here on earth right now within God’s people.

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