Purpose And Power Of Authority by Myles Munroe Read Free Book Online

others
mastering others
forcing people to do what you want them to do
manipulating people to do what you want them to do
controlling others
restricting others
tyrannizing others
subjecting other people to your will
    To summarize, we often perceive authority as any person, party, or position that dominates, controls, or manipulates other people or situations, usually to that perceived authority’s
advantage. And all of us hate to be dominated, manipulated, and controlled!
    Those who exhibit false authority not only hurt everyone around them but also stifle the true authority that is within themselves and that they could be offering to others. They are not operating in their proper authority and domain but in a false domain of abuse. While we naturally side with the victims of false authority, we must realize that both perpetrators and victims of erroneous perceptions of authority need to find and live in the freedom that comes only through true authority.
Results of the Misuse and Abuse of Authority
    People react in different ways to the neglect, misuse, or abuse of authority, but our negative conceptions of and experiences with authority produce life-draining emotions and attitudes. Think about specific negative experiences in your life in which you have dealt with people in alleged authority or found yourself in circumstances that seemed to control you. Now, consider how you have reacted to them as you read through the following list of reactions people may have to false authority:
Fear: They are afraid of being ruled and controlled.
Intimidation/Timidity: They are unsettled by those who claim to have authority over them and may go along with their orders or suggestions only because they feel they have no choice.
Distrust/Caution: They keep themselves at arm’s length from others because they don’t want to be taken advantage of or have their lives run by someone else.
Suspicion: They are distrustful of those who want to be in charge, and so they steer clear of them.
Friction: Their relationships with those who are “in charge” are tense; they have difficulty finding common ground on which to connect with supervisors, teachers, parents, and colleagues.
Antagonism/Contentiousness/Defiance: They are disagreeable and belligerent in their interactions with others.
Defensiveness: They are easily offended and try to protect themselves from criticism.
Resentment: They develop a bitter spirit toward those whom they perceive as “management” or “executives.”
Protest: They object to suggestions, thinking, Nobody’s going to tell me what to do, so they immediately dispute any attempt to influence their lives.
Avoidance: Because of their negative experiences with authority, they avoid exercising initiative or taking supervisory roles themselves.
Threat: They feel in danger from and vulnerable to those who have power.
Stress/Anxiety/Worry/Dread: They experience distress when interacting with authority figures.
    What a terrible way to live!
    As a result of the misuse and abuse of authority, our world—especially the present generation—has an underlying current of distrust, disrespect, and fear of authority. Some people have come to even reject any semblance of authority. Others have come to believe that suppression and oppression are natural components of authority, or at least ones that are to be accepted, tolerated, or endured. These long-established concepts of authority and the behavior that results from them are the fundamental cause of many of the problems we face in the world today. They are essentially destroying people, preventing them from becoming all that they were born to be.
    Even though we can understand and sympathize with the above reactions and emotions, they are not healthy, and they will do nothing toward helping us to exercise our own inherent personal authority.
The Beautiful Principle
    The negative experiences we’ve had with authority inevitably have an effect on our fulfillment and effectiveness