In our day and age there is a resistence to any kind of authority. I've thought about this a great deal before. Why is there that resistence? There are many reasons I'm sure but a new thought popped into my head the other day as I was leaving my humble abode on Green Ave. Here 'tis...
Why in the world would we reject the leadership of someone or some people that have been put in a position by others? Why do we know what's best? Do we really think that if we were to do it our way somehow it would be better than their way? What makes us so much better? We probably don't really think we're that much better decision-makers, we want control.
Moreover, we probably question the leaders' intentions towards us. Now why would we question others' intentions? Well, probably because we recognize that our own intentions are selfish most if not all of the time. So we project our own selfish intentions onto others. This is probably a safe projection because we all share in this humanness. So where does that leave us? We need to have a shared goal. If we have a shared goal then it is best for the whole community if we are each selfish. If my personal good is within the communal good then we're good to go.
How does this happen? My answer is that the common goal must be rooted in the glory of God or else we will fail as leaders and followers every time. I won't unpack that here but will stop for now.
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3 comments:
I think the questioning depends on who we are questioning: political leaders, religious leaders, family leaders, etc. I do agree that the questioning should center on the concept of having a common goal rooted in glorifying God. Strong arguments can be made as to which leaders should be scrutinized the most...and beyond what I have time to share in a post.
I think as a Believer and Follower of Christ Jesus "questioning" is healthy lest we fall into a trap of apathy and submit to leaders who seek not to glorify the Lord.
In the words of anarchists everywhere: "Question authority!"
interesting thoughts. I want to share more later... I have some very strong thoughts on leadership and authority.
Ben I agree completely with what you have said. In response to the bearded's comments; there is a difference between questioning authority and resisting or rejecting. We are all under authority, be it right wrong or indifferent.
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