Supporting our Leaders

It’s easy to be unkind those in authority because we hold those in authority to a high standard.  People in authority have to prove that they are worthy of that power, and we are quick to judge those that don’t seem to deserve it.  None of the RAs I’ve ever had have succeeded in meeting my standard.  The problem is that as an RA myself now I’m starting to discover, neither do I.

I could solve this problem by lowering my standards.  After all, I’m really busy, and the people who are doing more than me have an unfair advantage.  They don’t have as much homework as I do and they have the instantly approachable and social RA personality.  It seems that this is the option our culture tends to take toward personal morality.  We are the baseline for acceptable morality.  People who expect more from us are “preachy” and “judgmental” (but of course, anything that doesn’t meet our standard is unacceptable).

But this isn’t the Christian way.  God doesn’t relax his standards.  We are to be holy because God is holy (Leviticus 11:45).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)  We simply do not have the option of lowering the bar.

It seems that the Christian way is not to lower the standards, but to extend grace.  Yes the standards are high, so high in fact that nobody could possibly attain it.  The standard is nothing short of perfection; perfect reverence, perfect obedience, perfect love; and God’s not willing to simply relax it.  But he forgives.  He offers grace.  He offers compassion and understanding.  And he offers companionship.

This is how we must learn to treat each other, especially our leaders whom we tend to have uncommonly high expectations for.  Of course, some leaders simply aren’t a good match for the job and should be replaced, but a lot of leaders just need support and encouragement to grow into their authority.  And this is how we need to learn to treat ourselves as well.  We don’t relax our standards, but we give ourselves grace within them.  When we fail, we repent, we forgive ourselves, and we try again (a little bit differently this time).  We learn to stand not on our achievements but on grace.  We allow our failures to open up in us a capacity for humility and compassion, and we build a community around that.  Eventually pride and rejection give way to love and acceptance.  This is the Christian way.

Currently:
… reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.  Great introduction to spiritual disciplines
… watching The Social Network.  Brilliant film.
… watching South Park (it’s a Jersey thing…)
… listening to Rehab by Lecrae (and possibly rapping along to it in my room…)
… reading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
… reading On Thinking the Human by Robert Jensen and Original Sin: A Cultural History by Alan Jacobs
… driving MY car!