I’d rather belong than have authority

I have been pondering a couple of verses in Luke 10 where Jesus gave his disciples authority to do all sorts of things but he was very quick to remind them that belonging is something that they should be so much more excited about. 

In the NGO world that I work in, there is a lot of focus on rights - of children, women, migrants, refugees, people with disabilities, elderly etc. It’s about who has the authority to do what. Structures, policies, systems, procedures & operations manuals are all important to make sure that authority is not abused and things are done correctly, honestly and ethically. It’s all needed but I’ve realised that authority breeds accountability structures which is a bit cold and calculated when the work is about and for people.

But, oh, how much easier it would be if we all knew that we belonged in the organization, business, country, church or whatever and we trusted each other to do the right thing and do it to the best of our abilities.

Belonging breeds trust. 

Trust will take us so much further than accountability, so I’d rather belong than have authority. 

Watch this space …