Authority is taught
by the Church as gift from God. St. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, writes
about authority as of divine origin. If that is the case, then the holder of
authority cannot have the luxury of abusing that power. But such the case is
not the case at all.
Those in authority
are known to be knowledgeable enough on how the institution works. And if such
people in authority enjoy such knowledge, it is not far from reality in using it
at her disposal. The privilege of having that disposition can be exercised in two
ways – for the good of the institution and of others, or for the good of the
institution but at the same time at the expense of others.
People working in
the institution are innocent of what is really happening above. How does the
organization work is not really their focus. Some of these people are by nature
submissive to the imposition of the rules, either for their advantages or not. And
some are just trying to go with the tide, but deep within them are full of ill-feelings
of discontentment and low morale.
But since we are
talking about authority being classified as of divine origin, those in the higher
ups must have pondered enough the definition and implication of what authority
is. That power is not inherited. That power is given. It is a privilege. And so
it goes with great responsibility. The action of taking responsibility should
be in equilibrium with that of one’s calling – as a Christian.
The realization should be this, that one must
learn that authority as privilege does not come first. Before one is given the
authority, one is being called by Christ to be his follower. And that should be
the identity one must be aware of. What one becomes of the present is not all
the case. It is not in isolation by discarding what was before, because discipleship
comes first, then authority.
