Using Authority Well: A Concise Guide for Men

“When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the
morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes
grass to sprout from the earth.” -2 Samuel 23:3-4

Beloved Kinney,

There are some images that evoke certain emotions. Think of a sunrise. What emotion
is evoked when you look at a sunrise? Maybe warmth, joy, comfort, awe. What about a
beautiful day full of sunshine? Perhaps light-heartedness or thankfulness. Or watching
the rain replenish the earth after a drought? Feelings of refreshment and sustenance.

These are the images David speaks of in 2 Samuel 23 when he describes what it’s like
to be under good, godly authority. It is joyful, comforting, refreshing, sustaining. It is life-
giving, gratefulness-inducing, awe-inspiring.

We live in a culture that tends to despise authority. Of course, this feeling is often tied to
an experience of bad authority. There are few things worse and more damaging and
more destructive than being under bad authority. But many have tended to throw out the
baby with the bathwater. “All authority is bad,” is a mantra that underlies so much
thinking today.

In his book Using Authority Well, Jonathan Leeman seeks to show the beauty of
authority, specifically in the various ways men are called to exercise it. In the first
chapter, he offers five principles of good authority that I want to commend to you who
are in positions of authority, whether in your home, at your workplace, in the church, or
elsewhere. Every one of us exercises some kind of authority in some ways. Reflect on
these principles as you exercise whatever it is you’ve been authorized to do.

1) Good authority doesn’t steal life but creates it.
2) Good authority is not unaccountable but submits to higher authority.
3) Good authority is not unteachable but seeks wisdom.
4) Good authority is neither permissive nor authoritarian but administers discipline.
5) Good authority is not self-protective but bears the costs.

I strongly encourage you (especially the men in our church!) to pick up a copy of this
book, make application to yourself, and grow in being a godly authority of those whom
God has place under your care.

Love,
Pastor Josh