noun
“the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.”
“he had absolute authority over his subordinates”
Authority has its root in the Latin word “auctor” which means originator or creator.
It is closely tied to the idea of legitimacy. When we act with authority, our actions are legitimate. When we act without it, our actions are unauthorized……. illegitimate.
Authority is very important in our daily lives…….in both obvious and subtle ways. When you see a flashing blue light in the rear view mirror, you pull over……..why?……..because the police officer has authority.
Authority, it turns out, is what allows you to make decisions that affect your life…….and the lives of those around you. Ultimately, authority translates into power. Authority works best when the people on both sides of a question recognize the authority behind the decision.
Parents of teenagers deal with this every day.
If you have raised teenagers, I’m sure you have heard this one…….”You aren’t the boss of me!” If you haven’t yet dealt with a teen……..just wait. Teenagers, it turns out, often have a problem recognizing authority…….and that leads to conflict and pain.
We make decisions and act on them….. all day……every day. The success of those actions depends on the authority behind them.
So……..where does authority come from?
Authority is created. And the key issue is this:
Who creates authority?
In life, just as in the military, there is a “chain of command”. You have a boss……and your boss has a boss and so on. You have authority, because it was given to you by someone above you in the chain of command. Ultimately, at the top of the chain……at the top of the pyramid……there is an entity who creates all authority and passes it down. Ultimately, all authority comes from a creator………the creator.
And that is where the trouble begins.
Authority creates power. Authority and, therefore, legitimate power……..flows down the “chain of command,”.
And we hate that. We cannot abide someone telling us what to do. We want to be the boss. So…….we try to create authority on our own. We decide what is right and wrong based on our wants and needs and on our intellect. And so does the other guy. This is the cause for all of the mayhem in our world. A guy with a gun walks into a convenience store and exercises his self created authority over the girl at the cash register. Congress and the courts exercise their authority over the health care system and legalize abortion……..and capital punishment……….and in the past, slavery.
It turns out that……just like everything else……..there are rules governing authority.
- Authority is given to you…….by someone who has received it…..from someone who received it……..and so on.
- You cannot create your own authority out of thin air.
- Legitimate rules and laws are based on legitimate authority.
- Power follows authority.
- There is ultimately one source of authority……..the creator…… God.
The corollary:
No God > no legitimate authority > mayhem
And that is where we sit today in our modern progressive society. There are thousands of people who have tried to create thousands of different authorities…….all of them attempting to legitimize that person’s appetites……….all of them going in different directions…….and this is tearing us apart.
For example:
Many of us have decided that we have the authority to decide………whether we are male or female. Some of our educators teach this in our schools.
There is an organization called NAMBLA. They are trying to create a societal authorization for pedophilia.
I’m sure that we could both expand this list all day long.
The cure for the mayhem?
We must all recognize the same legitimate source of authority…….the guy at the top of the “chain of command” ……….the creator…….. God.
If you try to create your own authority…….if you yell out “you aren’t the boss of me!”……… then you are trying to become the creator……..you are trying to become God. And you will invariably come into conflict with others who are doing exactly the same thing……..others who have every bit as much authority as you do.
Two visions of authority……. “I’m the boss” vs. “I have a boss.”
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus, William Henley
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith………….Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
Matthew, NIV