Merciful Authority

I am not a person known for her mercy.  Though I can be kind and compassionate I also seem to have a reputation for saying things that do not exactly make people all warm and fuzzy.  I was trying to think when this started, why am I like this?  As long as I can remember in my family if there was something hard that needed to be said, “let’s get Beth to do it” was the general attitude of my siblings.  I used to think that it was because I was able to deliver a hard message with a little humor.  There may be a little bit of truth in that.    

The first time I remember it as an adult was while I was a Resident Assistant in a dormitory at the University of Delaware.  Many of the girls who lived in the dorm were friends with the guys in a particular Fraternity.  One of the girls was getting a reputation for being “easy” when she visited the frat house.  The problem came to the attention of our Hall Director because this one girl was giving the whole dorm a bad reputation on campus.  The girl was on my floor so I was considered the immediate authority over her.  I was given the job of talking to her about her “loose” behavior and the effect it was having on others.  

I dreaded having this conversation.  But, I went to her and told her, as unemotionally as I could, what the facts were as we knew them.  She explained that this had started because she walked out of the frat in front of some other brothers, embarrassing the guy she left.  We were able to refute the reputation and life went on as normal. 

We were both very glad that we had had this discussion.  A young woman’s reputation was saved and a dorm’s misunderstanding came to full light.  What a relief.  That conversation taught me that, though difficult, there can be great good that comes from saying the hard stuff.   

One of my merciful friends tells me that I need to be willing to back up my admonitions with merciful statements.  When I talk to someone who is guilty of the sin I am approaching her about, my friend wants me to be sure to let her know of the forgiveness that we have in Christ.  Of course, she’s right about the forgiveness.  But let’s be clear about what’s merciful. 

I was thinking about this today because of a couple of recent conversations.  One was about the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”.  This describes Jesus as he is introduced by John the Baptist.  He is also known as the “Lion of Judah”.  One seems so kind and meek, the other so strong and powerful.  Jesus has all of these characteristics and more.   

As I was thinking about this Romans 8:29 came to my mind.  “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”  God wants all of His children to become more and more like Jesus.  He was kind, merciful and compassionate – but He was also powerful, brave, courageous, and feared no man.  We want to be like Him in the first part but we back off of being like Him in His strength.  

Every person is an authority over someone, parents with children, husbands with wives, bosses with employees, teachers with students, and Pastors/elders with congregants.  These are God given roles.  If we exercise only the loving, compassionate sides of our personalities and responsibilities, we are not being like Christ.   

There was a time when Jesus healed a man of demon possession.  The Pharisees heard about it and this was their response:  “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”  (Matthew 12:24)  Jesus taught that good trees will bear good fruit and bad trees, bad fruit.  Then He looks at them and says, “You brood of vipers!  How can you speak good, when you are evil?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Matthew 12:34 .  You see, Jesus is the authority over our hearts.  According to verse 25 Jesus knew their thoughts – He knew what was in their hearts that then came out of their mouths.  He corrected them for their sinful thoughts and words.  

In His warnings and name-calling Jesus is calling the Pharisees to see their wickedness.  Though it sounds so unkind ultimately He is concerned for their souls, where they would spend eternity as well as for those they taught.  

When we fail to exercise the authority over the people that God has given us to minister to, then we fail to be more like Him.  Though Jesus was kind and compassionate it sometimes came out in words that did not sound so merciful.  If it took being called a “brood of vipers” to wake up the Pharisees to their sin, then Jesus was doing the merciful thing.  

In some positions in life we may not be able to point others as directly to Jesus as we can our children and spouses.  If we are in positions of authority in our workplace, in schools, or in community organizations, we may have to be careful not to cross the written guidelines of acceptable proselytizing.  BUT, we cannot allow a call for mercy and compassion to cause us to lower our standards of living and dropping the responsibilities to exercise authority as God has given it to us.     

In our culture or in our workplaces, we may need to choose our words carefully.   “A brood of vipers” may not go over too well.  However, if our job is to call people to get a job done, to call children to live and act according to a Biblical standard, or we need to admonish a brother or sister in the Lord, then we must be more like Christ and be willing to speak the truth for the good of the other person – and the glory of God.   

It requires courage and it requires love.  When we do it, we are exercising merciful authority.