One of our new daily tasks while we are in Arizona visiting family for 2 months in preparation of our trip to Spain is taking care of my parent’s animals. It is a job the kids have taken to and they really enjoy getting up early in the morning and feeding all of the different animals on the ranch.
Their first day on the job, the kids went out with my dad and he showed them the ropes, and all the routines they had to go through to properly feed the animals. The next day they were on their own and they followed all of the instructions exactly and to the “T”.
The one detail was that they weren’t allowed to feed the big horses with out an adult (they have 2 ponies and a goat, and then 3 horses in different corrals) so that means that after they feed the chickens, turkey, ducks, dogs, bunny, ponies and goat, they come in and wake me up to take them out to feed the horses.
Now this next part of the story may sound crazy to “non-horse” people or even irresponsible but there is a point so stick with me.
On their first morning solo they came and woke me up so they could go feed the big horses, and I walked with them out to the corral. I opened the gate to go in with them and watched as they put out the alfalfa flakes for the horses. The next morning they insisted that I stay on the outside and watch them do it on their own, so I did.
Every morning after that I stood outside the corral under the big juniper tree where I could see clearly into the barns and watched the kids do their jobs methodically. Anyone who has been around horses knows that when it is feeding time they can get excitable and cranky, these horses are not the exception. When you go into the corral to feed you have to be strong and show them who’s boss or they will just push you around.
The funny thing about horses is that you don’t have to be a big person to get them to do what you want, you just have to have confidence and understand your relationship with them and no matter how small you are they will do what you tell them to do.
It would amaze you to see Noah or Belén pushing a 1200 lb. animal out of the way or into his stall while he is being cranky. As I watched them it made me think about the nature of authority and how their experiences in the corral relate to everyday life.
Authority, whether spiritual authority, civil authority or authority in the horse corral is based on the same principles, and we can learn a lesson about authority from observing the kids in the corral.
Authority is a relationship: I think the most important principle to remember about authority is that it is based in relationships. The kids have authority over the horses because there is a relationship there. In fact their authority over the horses is really based in the fact that they are there to serve the horses, and the horses know that.
Although the horses are much bigger and much stronger than the children, they will obey them because the horses know that the kids are there to feed them. The horses recognize that their submission yields benefits to them, in the form of food and treats or being brushed or cared for. As leaders in the church, employers, coaches or any kind of person in authority we have to understand that our authority is given to us, not that we have taken it by our own force or virtue, and the strength of our authority is in the service we offer up.
Jesus said to be great in the Kingdom of God you have to a servant (Matthew 20:26) and if you ever hope to exercise true authority you must learn to become a servant
Authority is based on rules: The kids knew that their authority was only in force as long as they followed the rules. Horse people know there are a lot of rules to follow when dealing with horses, and that your authority in the corral has limits and if you leave your limits you leave your authority behind.
The kids know that they can only approach the horses in a certain way, in a certain attitude and in certain places and if they break those rules they know that the horses will not obey them. The same is true when we talk about our authority; it has limits and if we step outside those limits then we open ourselves up to danger and the fact that people will ignore us because we have no authority. If a police officer leaves his jurisdiction he has no authority with out a special warrant or permission from those in authority in that jurisdiction, a CEO can’t fire employees from another company and a leader in the church can exercise spiritual authority if he is outside of the limits that God has placed on him.
Authority is based on recognition: This principle is perhaps the most profound; the kids have authority over the horses because they bear the image of their father, and grandfather. The horses know that they are supposed to be there because their father sent them, they understand why they are there because the see the image of their father in them.
As spiritual leaders, our authority is recognised because we bear the image of our Heavenly Father. Jesus spoke often about authority and there are numerous occasions in the Bible where authority is mentioned, but one of the most interesting stories is found in Acts 19:13. Seven sons of Sceva went around trying to drive out demons saying “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” The demons’ response is classic, they say “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”. They then proceed to give the sons of Sceva a world class whoop’n (as they say in the south) so bad that they left their clothes behind.
If we don’t bear the image of our father then we have no business trying to exercise spiritual authority over anyone or anything for that matter. The demons KNEW Jesus and knew about Paul. That is significant because our authority comes from Christ and is exercised THROUGH him and no other, least of all ourselves.
If we want to be effective as leaders in any capacity, but most of all spiritually we have to learn these 3 principles:
- Authority is based on relationship
- Authority is based on rules
- Authority is base on recognition
If we remember those three principles we can have confidence in the authority we have been given and accomplish great things in Our Father’s name.
Mark 13:34, “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.”