AUTHORITY IS PERSONAL BUT NOT EXCLUSIVE
Source : Kutlwano
Author : Russ Molosiwa
Location : GABORONE
Event : Column-Mokanoki
This is the third topic in my examination of authority. Let me bring it home. I`m talking about personal authority, which is designed to operate in concert with other people and for the benefit of others as well. Authority works in such a way that people`s personal authorities are interrelated and function interdependently in corporate life. We need each other`s authority to fulfill our own.
Authority operates in conjunction with collective human endeavours, such as we experience in families, communities, to keep from being unduly persuaded by others. You must know and trust in the strength of your own authority.
Paul wrote; “we have different gifts, according to the grace given us” (Romans 12:6). We all have different gifts according to the grace - the abilities, the talents - that we have been given. Different gifts do not all have the same function, and we need to recognise and enjoy our particular gifts.
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many for one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (verses 4-5).
Everyone has a specific authority, an area of gifting, and everybody else needs that authority. If we don`t find our areas and fulfill them, then we are causing weaknesses or “sicknesses” in the “body”; we are hindering the welfare of our generation.
We are actually having a negative impact on the community. If we (1) all belong to each other, and (2) all have different gifts, that means that other members of the community need our gifts, and that we need theirs. Suppose you had a toothache. Would you go to your car mechanic to get it checked out? A mechanic does have various tools, including pliers, and if you wanted to go that route, I`m sure he`d fix you up!
No, the reason you sit back and close your eyes and trust a dentist is that you respect the certificates hanging on his wall.
You believe he has the education and training that qualify him to work on your teeth. You wouldn`t want to be sitting in a dentist`s chair awaiting a root canal and have the dentist come in and say, “Now, let` see, I`ve never done this before. What should I do first?” At that point, it`s definitely time to escape through the window!
“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to but rather think of yourself in sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).
Paul was saying that we should think of ourselves according to the gifts God has given us and not get carried away trying to accomplish or establish something we`re not designed for. We`re not to wander into others` territories just because we think we would enjoy their assignments more. In this sense, “thinking of ourselves more highly than we should, is always conspicuous in the one who is the most valuable. Yet just because you`re not up-front doesn`t mean you`re not important. In another of his writings, Paul says that some of the most important parts of the body are hidden. (See 1 Corinthians 12:22—24)
Consider how the human body functions. Your heart is never seen, yet it circulates blood throughout your body and keeps you alive.
If your heart were to become visible outside your body, then, unless you were on an operation table undergoing surgery, you would likely be dead! Likewise, when people are out of place from their authority, they can “kill” the community. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, each one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body. (Corinthians 12:17-20) When you discover your gift, you might find that it functions more in the background but if you`re not operating in it, then those who need your gift will lack something vital. In the next issue I will look at your personal domain. ENDS
