Purpose And Power Of Authority (4 page)

While we have to use normal precautions and common sense as we go about our lives, fears of enclosed spaces and accidents are not inherent but learned fears. When someone experiences any type of fear, it is very real to that person, whether or not others feel that the fear is justified. We are dealing with emotions that have begun to affect our behavior and that need to be addressed.

In a similar way, we have developed our attitudes and reactions toward authority—whether negative or positive—from our past experiences with “authority figures” rather than from really stopping to think about the concept. I don’t think that most people naturally fear or reject true authority. If someone is uncomfortable with, fears, or despises the idea of authority, he’s likely had a negative experience at some point that precipitated it.

Our attitudes and perspectives toward authority have a direct effect on our outlooks on life and on ourselves, and on what purposes and goals we pursue. Therefore, our discomfort with and fear of authority likewise need to be acknowledged and addressed if we are going to pursue our personal authority.

Unfortunately, most of us have had opportunities for negative experiences with authority. Many of our parents, extended family members, teachers, employers, and civic and religious leaders have unknowingly contributed to our misunderstanding of authority because of their own lack of understanding of what genuine authority is. Our spouses may have contributed to our confusion over authority because of their own background and personal experiences, which they bring to the relationship. Our cultures have contributed to our misconceptions about authority through established traditions based on misinterpretations of authority. In the religious realm, many people perceive God as a monster because of what they were taught as children; they were told that He is a tyrant looking for someone to catch so He can punish him in hell. Finally, we ourselves have perpetuated our misunderstandings of authority by reinforcing the erroneous ideas we have absorbed. Again, much of what we’ve experienced has built up a picture of authority in our minds and hearts that is intrusive or frightening. If a whole race or generation fears authority, it’s because somewhere in their collective past, they experienced pain, discomfort, or dissatisfaction as a result of an apparent authority.

People’s widely different experiences with authority in our contemporary world, as well as in previous eras, have led to quite diverse opinions about it. That is why, if you browse quotations about authority on the Internet and in books, you will find as opposite views as Oscar Wilde’s seeming rejection of it—“Authority is quite degrading”—to Albert Einstein’s ironic observation—“To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself”—to Daniel Webster’s passionate warning: “[I]f we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”

It seems as if people divide into certain camps when it comes to authority. To some, it represents order and structure. To others, it represents a lack of freedom of thought and action. Authority is considered by many to be a negative force that stifles people’s freedom—or at best a necessary evil to keep life functioning.

Yet authority in its true form is not stifling or restrictive. Genuine authority creates an environment for people to think, to dream, to discover and refine their gifts and talents, to build others up, and to develop themselves fully. Authority has therefore been hijacked, and the result is that it has been misconceived, misdefined, and misrepresented across the globe.

I was born in the tropical, sun-drenched Islands of the Bahamas in the Caribbean, which is considered by millions to be surrounded by the most beautiful waters in the world. Obviously, water activities are very popular. I sometimes like to go spearfishing in the ocean, and I’ve seen sharks a number of times. Whenever I’m underwater and see a shark, however, I still get chills all over, especially if the shark is larger than I am! There have been a few times when all indications have pointed to the fact that the shark was very interested in me, and I felt totally helpless.

One time, I had speared a fish, the fish was still moving on my spear, and a shark came by and apparently decided, “You’ve stolen my meal.” Let me tell you, I was very accommodating. I dropped the spear as I thought, Mr. Shark, you can have the fish and the spear. At the same time I was thinking this, I was swimming away. I knew that if the shark wanted to overtake me and get a piece of me, he could do so without any problem. Why? I was not born to swim, so it was not as easy for me to move through the water as it was for him. It took much more effort on my part than it took the shark because swimming is one of his natural abilities, and the ocean is his natural domain. It is his realm of authority. Sharp teeth are also a part of his authority. It’s an authority I am aware of and respect, and so I protect myself accordingly.

There are many stories and proven cases of shark attacks in which many people have been maimed and others have lost their lives. Do we or can we blame the sharks for these incidences, or do we accept them as a natural result of the authority within nature at work? It seems that the shark considers his behavior natural and well within his authority. In essence, we are trespassing on his domain of authority, and that violation results in a natural display of his authority.

It is interesting to note that we do not condemn all sharks for the actions of one. We do not cancel the value of sharks or dismiss the vital role they play in the broad scheme of things. We see them as simply exercising their authority in nature. Maybe we should rethink our fear of sharks and exchange it for respect for their authority. Every time I am in the ocean and see the magnificent beauty and power of the shark, I am reminded that it is I who am trespassing on his domain of authority, and so I honor that fact by keeping my distance and being ready to leave his domain at a moment’s notice. Through understanding, my fear of authority has become a respect for authority.

I’ve run into certain people who have pretty sharp teeth, as well. We can experience a whole set of problems when we deal with human “sharks” in the guise of authority figures who do serious damage to our lives. The difference between these people and the sharks in the ocean is that they are operating outside the parameters of true authority and beyond their natural environments of authority. They misuse and abuse authority as they rule over others in various capacities and realms of life. They grab what doesn’t belong to them, and, because they have become adept at doing so and are able to wield their sharp teeth, those around them have to drop their own natural authority and swim for their lives.

Considering the bad experiences with authority many of us have had, we need to be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” In this book, we will explore many reasons why genuine authority is very good and, in fact, essential to a life of productivity and fulfillment. Yet because it has been abused by those who were the custodians or usurpers of authority throughout history, people have been burned so badly that they reject what they believe has caused that pain—“authority”—rather than the misuses of it.

Some people have used knives as weapons to kill people, but the knives themselves were not the issue. The problem was with those who wielded the knives. Likewise, if you are burned while you are ironing clothes, the iron is not the problem but whatever absentmindedness, accident, or mechanical malfunction caused you to be burned by it. So, the problem is not authority but rather how people have treated it. Most people do not recognize exactly what they’re reacting to when they resist so-called authority. Yet focusing on their bad experiences can prevent them from having good experiences with authority in the future.

Because these false but commonly accepted concepts of authority have so permeated the nations and cultures of the world, we first need to explore what true authority is not so that we can become free of our misconceptions and clearly understand what true authority is.

See if you recognize any human “sharks” represented in the following concepts of authority. Some of these terms may overlap, but each also has a distinct aspect to it that is worth noting.

A Person Who Wields Power

One of the false concepts of authority that has led to its misuse and abuse is that power is synonymous with authority. Many people have come to see authority as a greater strength that is able to subdue others.

Power is the capacity to move something by force or energy, whether it is an object, an idea, or a person. It is the ability to cause, activate, initiate, transform, or impact. Power can be exercised through position, knowledge, strength, force, integrity, influence, personality, or threats. But power is not the same thing as authority. The difference is that true authority is always sanctioned, or authorized, whereas power can be illegitimate, or unauthorized. Power that is used to harm people in some way is clearly unauthorized; it has then become a weapon. Bullies of all ages use power in this way.

Many people who have come into contact with power that is oppressive and even abusive develop a fear of authority because, in their minds, they have transferred that experience to authority itself. For example, if a child is physically abused by a parent, he may try to protect himself from further abuse by rejecting any adult whom he sees as an authority figure. If a wife is repeatedly emotionally abused by her husband, she can become suspicious of others who make suggestions or offer direction, equating their motives with the same kind of control.

On a societal or national level, history is unfortunately strewn with examples of unauthorized power. One of the most obvious examples is Adolf Hitler, who seized control of Germany through intimidation and overpowering force and then turned his weapons of abuse on much of Europe. Those who wield power without authority are forced to subject people to their wills. When we see a person oppressing other people, whether by a carrot-and-stick approach or by controlling their destinies because he has something the people need, that’s an abuse of authority. Slave owners use power to the point of “owning” other human beings and overwhelming them by physical force.

Power was never meant to exist for or by itself but as a tool for good. Power has to be protected and regulated, and genuine authority does this. For example, electricity without conductivity or grounding can be destructive; yet, with these things, it can give us light and energy to run appliances, equipment, electronic devices, and so forth. The same power that could destroy us becomes a service to us if it is regulated, or submitted to the right purpose.

Power is merely energy and ability, but authority is permission and right to use the power. Power without authority is energy without authorization; it is illegal force. The key to success is not power alone but knowing and using authorized power. Someone acting with true authority empowers and protects people. True authority converts power into service.

That is why the greatest protection against misdirected power is genuine authority. When people operate in an authorized way, they will use power to serve constructive ends.

We must also recognize, however, that authority without power is ineffective; it is essentially permission to do something without the ability to carry it out. Authority is responsibility but power is ability. Have you ever appealed to a government official or worked for a supervisor at your job who had no ability to take action or make needed changes or corrections? You cannot give authority without also empowering the recipient to act, or that authority is useless. A person should delegate authority only if he has the capability to back it up.

Authority and power are therefore inseparable. If they are separated, the purpose of each becomes weakened, distorted, or nullified. Each has its place.

A Person Who Has the “Boss Spirit”

The concept of the “boss spirit” is related to power, but its main attribute is the abuse of position through manipulation. The word manipulate is defined as “to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means.” The boss spirit is the idea that having authority means you can take advantage of people, order them around at will, and get them to do what you want through coercion.

Such a perspective is unnatural and antithetical to true authority. When someone in a leadership position embraces this false idea of authority, he engages in actions that intimidate, discriminate, exploit, oppress, suppress, and abuse people. Many people have either treated others according to the boss spirit or have experienced the receiving end of it, to a greater or lesser extent.

The opposite of the boss spirit is to use authority for the good of all concerned and to seek others’ cooperation and contributions rather than trying to maneuver them.

A Person Who Rules or Is “In Charge”

Many people think that because someone rules over them or is “in charge,” that person automatically has authority. Since authority needs legitimacy and authorization, however, those who usurp the role of leader actually have no genuine authority, even though they are in positions where they can rule.

Any attempt to be in charge without authorization cancels authority. Many governments in nations around the world have had unauthorized rulers. Some of those rulers may have done extraordinary things, but they were still illegitimate.

People who overthrow legitimate rule for the sake of taking power always have to keep looking over their shoulders for those who might do the same to them. They have established a precedent of disregard for established authority. They often have to kill people to get and keep their power because everyone is aware that it is not valid.