Who's In Charge?

While Jesus walked among humans, it is a bit ironic that the most powerful human ever to trod the dusty roads of planet Earth, seemed utterly disinterested in what we humans perceive as power, authority – in general, being “in charge.” His daily behavior shouts that reality at every turn, and He simply refuses to answer loaded questions from His critics about such matters. 

Just before His ascension, in what Matthew portrays as His final words to the disciples, He reminds them that now that He ascends back to heaven – “all authority has been given to me, in heaven and on earth.” Precisely Paul’s model in Philippians 2:5-11 where we are reminded that “He emptied himself of equality with God . . . took on the form of a servant because He was made in human likeness . . . and ultimately was given a name that is above every name.” 

Not only did Jesus tell us that leadership in the kingdom had nothing to do with “power and authority,”   He actually modeled what He taught in ways that are more impressive than any human could hope to achieve. What a novel idea.  Jesus doesn’t ask anything of us that He hasn’t already done. “Even the Son of Man came to wait on tables, not to be waited on at tables.” 

It’s an odd thing when you think about it, that so many people who claim to follow Jesus are so in to achieving power and authority over others. Despite the fact that while on earth Jesus was more interested in serving than ruling, and that as the resurrected Jesus who ascends into heaven, all power was given to Him, we still find ourselves playing the all-too-common power game.

Believers insist on having power over what our culture says is right or wrong, Rather than serving unwed mothers, we prefer to march in protests about abortion laws.  Rather than serving those who no doubt experience great loneliness as celibate gay people, we are determined to prohibit gay marriages. We want to tell people what books to read, what movies to watch, and dozens of other ways to gain power over them.  I’m not sure how the Christian gospel got reduced to a “gain power over people” approach to transforming the world, but it troubles me that it has.

The same sort of ironic reality exists in how some Christians see the role of women, whether it be in the church, in the family, or in the workplace. From limiting the role women can play in ways that would stun Paul himself, there seems to be a lot of male-oriented power playing going on in lots of places called church. How odd that men who are quick to quote “wives submit yourselves to your husbands,” forget that the very verse where the verb “submit” actually occurs (Ephesians 5:21) is used to say that Spirit-filled people “submit to one another out of reverence for the Lord.” The logic of insisting that Paul is being a literalist at the beginning of the Ephesian and Colossian household codes when he talks about wives and husbands, but is simply dealing with what can’t be addressed at the moment because of culture with the master/slave comments at the end of the codes has passed by me.

It can even be more complicated in the workplace, where we establish value based on function more than anything else. The debate about “equal pay for equal work” is but one example. What about promotions? And we can’t forget the even more ironic reality of how women sometimes behave when they are promoted – especially in how they view other women. Our cultural idea that function determines value is so strong that even people who have sometimes been victimized by that fact, turn right around and create more victims. It isn’t an accident that sometimes women in the workplace are quick to say they would rather work for a man than a woman!

“Who’s in charge?” will always be the wrong question. I understand the importance of leading, but today’s AJC will have more than a story or two about “who’s in charge?” and how it went wrong. Leadership is not so much about power and authority as it is about transforming situations – from the simplest decision about who takes out the garbage to the complicated geo-political realities that are on the front burner of our world’s conscious. The issue is not that we don’t need leaders – but rather about what kind of leaders do we need to transform the world. 

I would find it miserable to work in a place where there were no leaders. I don’t do well with confusion and chaos. But I would prefer that people see me as a leader because of who I am and not because I’m in charge. That’s the difference in how the world see things as compared with how the gospel sees things. Real leaders – at least if Jesus is going to be the paradigm – are much less likely to ever need to exert their authority, but lead by the example of who they are. 

Among the many things I like about Jesus is the fact that He never asks of me what He hasn’t already done. If I want to change the world – whether I’m male or female; American or Kenyan; boss or janitor – I would do well to follow His example.