Don’t Lose Your Moral Authority
I am currently reading Andy Stanley’s book Visioneering and have just completed the chapter about having moral authority in leadership. Stanley gives a couple of examples of how moral authority works in our lives. One example was Mother Teresa’s harsh words about abortion during a National Day of Prayer breakfast in Washington. Though the Clinton’s and Gore’s gave little response, the room erupted into a standing ovation after she spoke. Why would such a small woman have such a huge impact? Moral authority.
Stanley points out the difference between receiving forgiveness and having one’s moral authority restored. We are obligated, as believers, to forgive, but not to trust. Forgiveness is a biblical obligation placed on everyone who has been forgiven, but trust must be earned over a great deal of time and an establishment of an example of integrity.
I’ve personally gone through an experience in which someone close to me had a moral failure. Long ago I came to a place of forgiveness (that is, I released them from any debt toward me), but I cannot trust them because there continues to be a pattern of moral compromise. Often people demand our trust by demanding what they believe to be forgiveness, not realizing that forgiveness can be instant, but trust must be established over time.
One of the greatest examples of the establishment of moral authority in the Bible comes from the life of Zacchaeus. He was saved and forgiven by Jesus but his moral authority with the people around him was nil, due to the fact that he had cheated them out of their financial security for his own benefit. Assume that, having trusted in Christ, he gathered all those whom he had wronged together with a passionate apology. Would they forgive him? Perhaps. Would they trust him? Absolutely not.
So Zacchaeus sets the example we must follow when we’ve failed - he shows the real fruits of repentance. He not only apologizes, he declares, “Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) If you received a check from Zacchaeus for four times the amount he had taken from you, you might be inclined to give him another chance.
The subject of moral authority is dear to my heart. It is one of those frightful doctrines. I can honestly say I’d rather lose everything I have down to the shirt off my back than to sacrifice my moral authority. I want to look my wife, my kids, and my friends in the eye with the ability to say, “All is well with my soul.”
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