“For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” (Matt. 8:9)
A lot of people want authority; they want to have the power to be in charge and lead others. But there is a principle to leadership that many overlook, and it is this: To have authority, you must live under authority.
One day a Centurion came to Jesus. This man has great authority, having many soldiers under his command. Yet, even though he was IN authority, he was first UNDER an authority. He said, “I am a man under authority.” There are people who want to have authority in the lives of others but aren’t willing to live under the authorities in their own lives.
Some want to be the leader before they are a good follower. Some want to be in a leadership position at work, yet they aren’t faithfully following the directions of the manager over them. Some young preachers want to pastor a large church, yet they aren’t willing to faithfully sit and learn from their pastor.
This is a principle we cannot sidestep. If we want to HAVE authority, we must first be willing to live UNDER authority. In other words, you will never be a good leader until you are first a good follower. This Centurion didn’t have authority because he was tough, he had authority because he knelt to an authority over him, Caesar.
“I don’t want anyone telling me what to do,” an immature person will say. Well, that is the same attitude that caused Satan’s rebellion and subsequent fall from Heaven!
Everyone has an authority over them: children, wives, husbands, etc. The question is how well are you living under your authority?