On this fourth of July, I am reminded about the profound differences between the way that Almighty God views authority, and the way that humankind views it. In the human realm, authority is meant to be served by those under it. However, in the Divine realm, authority is intended to serve those under it! In the human realm, authority is exalted above the people, and all of their resources are expected to be employed in sustaining and enriching it. Conversely, in the Divine realm, authority uses the resources at its disposal to sustain and enrich the people it serves.
In the Old Testament, we are informed that God reigned over the children of Israel by means of judges which he chose and designated to implement his will for his people. The Israelites, however, were apparently not satisfied with this arrangement and demanded a king to rule over them (I Samuel 8:1-5). Indeed, we read there that the elders of Israel asked Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them, so that they could be more like the nations which surrounded them!
Nevertheless, God warned them in advance about how that human model of authority would work. He said: "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day." (I Samuel 8:11-18, ESV) In other words, instead of serving the interests of the people, their new king would force them to serve his interests!
In the New Testament, when Christ's disciples were arguing amongst themselves about leadership among Christ's disciples, we are informed in the Gospel of Mark (also in Matthew and Luke) that Jesus corrected their human perspective on authority. He said: "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45, ESV) Indeed, Jesus referred to himself as the "Good Shepherd" - the one who would nurture and take care of the sheep and would even give his life for them one day (John 10:11-18). This is the Divine perspective on authority, and it is very different from our own view of authority!
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