08 December 2011

What is your authority?

Authority seems to have become taboo in our culture. No one wants to sit under it and everyone wants to have it. Regardless of whether or not we want to acknowledge it, we all sit under some form of authority. Now I am not talking here of the reality that we all sit under the authority of God, though this is true and one day this will be made known. No, rather I am speaking of the authority on which we all base our views, our beliefs and convictions, our actions, our likes and dislikes. As we grow and form these areas of our life, we are all forming theme based around the authority of our life in that area. So the question is, what is our authority. This authority can take on many different forms.

For some, their authority comes from their emotions. They base their beliefs, their interest, their worldview around the emotions that these things invoke. If something stirs up inside of us a feeling of joy and happiness, well then it must be right. Life decisions, world-views even thoughts of God are based around their emotions and feelings and how they want things to be. Emotions are not bad, in fact they are good as they are given us from God. However, emotions are not meant to be our guiding force in life or our authority. The problem with this authority is it deceives you. Your emotions change from situation to situation. What may seem like certain truth and lead you to a strong conviction in one situation will lead you into changing your mind when the variables of a situation change. You base moral decisions and convictions based on the situation rather than truth.

Others find their authority based on experience. Often this view of authority is based largely around pragmatism. If I have experienced something in the past and it produced positive results, then it must be right. Views of right and wrong, good and bad, and even most beliefs and convictions are based around has it produced results. The problem is, everything that produces results is not by default right. This method also is deceiving and shifting. What happens when this "truth" no longer produces results, is it no longer a truth to which we are to hold? What if something that is counter opposite to this result producing truth or worldview also produces results or shows evidence that it "works?" Are they both true and worthy though they are opposed to one another?

For others, their authority comes from their logic or intellect. They analyze every situation and evaluate it to see if it logically adds up, and if it makes sense, then it is true and they will hold to it, but if it doesn't it must be rejected. If I am honest, I struggle with falling into this category. This sounds good on the surface, but this only works if the persons intellect and mindset is based around a logical set of truths and values by which to judge. If the persons intellect is based on faulty information, or worse, no information just their own wisdom, then what they conclude will also be skewed. Also, there are many very intelligent, educated people who diametrically disagree on any number of issues, so still this gives us no set standard of authority, but rather a shifting changing authority that is based on each persons thoughts.

The main problem with all of these authorities is that they make the individual the ultimate authority. It's the person's emotions, or experience or intellect that becomes the basis by which all things are judged. People cling to these authorities because it gives us a sense of control. If emotions, or experience or intellect are the authority, then ultimately I can shape right and wrong, my worldview, even my views of God to be exactly like I want them to be. This is dangerous and does not lead to truth that is absolute, but rather a truth that is weak and relative.

Rather, truth and authority must be set around something that is absolute and unchanging. Something that comes from the ultimate standard of truth, this being God. God is the source of all truth. He is to be the ultimate molder of our worldview. And He has not left who He is up to our imagination. He has revealed all these things through the Holy Scriptures. It is the scripture that is "breathed out by God and profitable" (2 Timothy 3:16). It is through His word, the Bible, that God has revealed the truth of morality, the truth of who He is and how one is reconciled to Him through Christ alone. It is through Scripture that God has laid out the truth of His bride the church and how she is to function and be lead. It is through His word that He has made known to us the ultimate authority on all these things. So the questions now becomes, will we submit these lesser authorities (our emotions, experience/pragmatism, and intellect) to the ultimate authority of Scripture? Will we allow the truths of Scripture to guide our emotions, not our emotions the truths of Scripture? Will we seek out of what the Bible teaches about our experiences and whether this thing or world view that "works" actually lines up with who God is and what He has revealed? Will we allow our intellects and worldviews to be shaped by the truth of God's word, not the things of this world? Will the Bible be the ultimate authority in our lives as believers, as it is intended to be, or will it simply become a slave to these other authorities that we have established?