Inner Work and the Exercise of Power

Scripture — 1 Peter 5:1-5 (NRSV)

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another . . . .

Devotion

The Bible is full of examples of leaders abusing their power. Consider, for example, the case of King Saul in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel. A leader with extraordinary potential, he let his jealousy and love of power corrupt his heart, thus compromising the goodness and effectiveness of his leadership. In 1 Samuel 22, for example, Saul was envious of the growing popularity of David, who was at that time serving Saul loyally. When Saul learned that Ahimelech, a priest in the town of Nob, had cared for David, Saul summoned all of the priests from Nob. When he accused Ahimelech of disloyalty, the priest attempted to defend himself. But Saul wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, he promised to kill Ahimelech, the members of his family, and all the priests from Nob. But Saul’s servants would not do his vile bidding. Finally, Saul prevailed upon a servant named Doeg, who slaughtered not only Ahimelech and his fellow priests, but also all the residents of Nob, including children and farm animals (1 Samuel 22:1-17).

Saul’s abuse of power is exceptionally extreme and wicked, of course. Most of us would never use power in this way. But it’s easy for people in leadership to be tempted to let our hunger for power pervert how we lead. In Leadership on the Line, Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky observe, “We all have hungers, which are expressions of our normal human needs. But sometimes those hungers disrupt our capacity to act wisely or purposefully” (p. 164). They continue, “Every human being needs some degree of power and control, affirmation and importance, as well as intimacy and delight. We know of no one who prefers to feel entirely powerless, unimportant, or untouched in life. Yet each of these normal human needs can get us into trouble when we lose the personal wisdom and discipline required to manage them productively and fulfill them appropriately” (p. 164). King Saul offers an extreme example of such a loss of wisdom and discipline.

Scripture calls us to a very different approach to the power entrusted to us. In his first letter, Peter urges the leaders of the church “to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight . . .not for sordid gain but eagerly” (5:2). Moreover, the elders are not to “lord it over those in [their] charge, but be examples to the flock” (5:3). They’re to lead, not by the exercise of their authority, but by the example of their character. In response to such leadership, those who are younger should “accept the authority of the elders” (5:5). All people, no matter their age or role in the church, “must clothe [themselves] with humility” (5:6).

I would suggest, once again, that this kind of humble leadership is not possible unless we do plenty of inner work. We must be honest with ourselves about how we feel about and exercise power. Are we motivated mainly by the ego boost that comes from having authority over others? Or do we use our authority mainly for personal gain? Do we sometimes “lord it over” the people entrusted to our care because we can? Are we truly able to clothe ourselves with Christ-like humility? If so, why? If not, why not?

Sometimes people can have such mixed feelings about power that they struggle to use for good what has been given to them. I’d confess to being like that, at least some of the time. As I have done the inner work of understanding my ambivalence about power, I have seen how complex my feelings can be. I am sometimes reticent to exercise power because I want people to like me, because I don’t want to abuse power in ways I experienced in my family, or because I’m aware of how I can be tempted to delight too much in my power. Yet God has entrusted me with certain kinds of power, power I need to steward well for God’s purposes and glory. As I learn more about my peculiar relationship with power, I have more freedom to act wisely, neither delighting too much in my power or failing to use well the power God has given me.

No matter where you are when it comes to exercising power, I believe the Lord wants you to do the inner work associated with power. Pay attention to your hungers and fears, your temptations and hesitations. Ask the Lord for the grace to be humble, not by never exercising power, but rather by learning how use your power with genuine humility as you serve others. Above, all, may God grant you the grace to “humble [yourself] under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time” (5:6).

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Instructions for Leaders and Followers (1 Peter 5).

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