Submission has its limits.
We should be careful to not confuse submission to God
with knowledge of God. Authority is
only one aspect of a whole relationship to Him.
We are not slaves, but sons and daughters to God, loved by Him for our own sake and through the sacrifice of Christ. Submission is a gift we give to God freely out of love, not a payment demanded before He will deal with us. If we submit purely out of fear of retribution, then we are His slaves, not his sons and daughters. our relationship is tainted by coercion. It is hard to love someone who forces His love upon us by demands of utter obedience.
Jesus said in John 15: 15 "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." Jesus did not come to enslave us but to empower us.
We are not slaves, but sons and daughters to God, loved by Him for our own sake and through the sacrifice of Christ. Submission is a gift we give to God freely out of love, not a payment demanded before He will deal with us. If we submit purely out of fear of retribution, then we are His slaves, not his sons and daughters. our relationship is tainted by coercion. It is hard to love someone who forces His love upon us by demands of utter obedience.
Jesus said in John 15: 15 "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." Jesus did not come to enslave us but to empower us.
Submitting to God does not mean submitting to everyone who claims to speak for God. Many sects, cults, and movements began because some leader claimed an authority from God they had not received and did not possess, convincing others that questioning their leadership was questioning God. Christians should be cautious against abusive leaders who demand unquestioned obedience.
In some churches and ministries followers are told "Touch not God's anointed." This is a way of saying that everything a leader does is perfect, and should never be questioned. Christians should be well advised to avoid such groups and to leave them if they are already involved.
David Johnson And Jeff Van Vonderen gives this definition of spiritual abuse in Their book The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, page 20. "Spiritual abuse is the mistreatment of a person who is in need of help support or greater spiritual empowerment, with the result of weakening undermining or decreasing that person's spiritual empowerment." Their book is a helpful one for anyone who believes they are in an abusive relationship with a church or church leader.
Money, sex and power have always been abused within organized religion. The most dangerous of the three is the abuse of power. Most churches and church leaders are loving, God-fearing people who recognize their own fallibility and welcome constructive criticism, but there are a few who want nothing more than to exert power over the lives of others. They may rationalize this desires by believing can make the world better by doing it, but they fail to see is that power abused is mostly what is wrong with the world.
In some churches and ministries followers are told "Touch not God's anointed." This is a way of saying that everything a leader does is perfect, and should never be questioned. Christians should be well advised to avoid such groups and to leave them if they are already involved.
David Johnson And Jeff Van Vonderen gives this definition of spiritual abuse in Their book The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, page 20. "Spiritual abuse is the mistreatment of a person who is in need of help support or greater spiritual empowerment, with the result of weakening undermining or decreasing that person's spiritual empowerment." Their book is a helpful one for anyone who believes they are in an abusive relationship with a church or church leader.
Money, sex and power have always been abused within organized religion. The most dangerous of the three is the abuse of power. Most churches and church leaders are loving, God-fearing people who recognize their own fallibility and welcome constructive criticism, but there are a few who want nothing more than to exert power over the lives of others. They may rationalize this desires by believing can make the world better by doing it, but they fail to see is that power abused is mostly what is wrong with the world.
In Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings, a magic ring symbolizes worldly
power. Anyone in possession of the ring
acquires great power, but is corrupted
by its spell. It cannot be used for good
because any good person becomes evil by wielding it. Tolkien wrote his book after having endured
two world wars. He had seen the effect
that power had on those who sought to remake the world by force.
We must not give to our leaders a ring of power by granting them an authority in our lives they ought not possess. When we do not think or act for ourselves, but expect our leaders to do all the thinking for us, we should not be surprised when they abuse our trust.
Authority belongs to God. To insist on other’s submission is to take the place of God. God is the only person who deserves our unquestioned obedience. Submission is no excuse for not thinking or doing for ourselves.
Authority belongs to God. To insist on other’s submission is to take the place of God. God is the only person who deserves our unquestioned obedience. Submission is no excuse for not thinking or doing for ourselves.
Question for further thought:
What is the difference between being an authority and being authoritarian? How do you tell true authority from authoritarianism?
No comments:
Post a Comment