Authority to build up
Paul defines his authority
Under attack from rivals, Paul has every reason to throw his weight around. Instead, he defines the very purpose of his authority: the authority which the Lord gave us is for building you up, and not for casting you down.
That single phrase is a test every leader's authority must pass. Power can construct or it can demolish, encourage or crush. Paul insists his was given for one of those, not the other — and the same is true of yours.
“the authority which the Lord gave us for building you up, and not for casting you down.”
— Paul, to the Corinthians — 2 Corinthians 10:8 (WEB)
Authority is given for building people up, not tearing them down. The same power can construct or demolish; the purpose makes the difference.
“Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.”
Paul, attacked, refused to wield his authority destructively because he knew what it was for. A leader formed here continually checks the purpose to which his power is bent — is it leaving people larger or smaller? He resists using authority to intimidate, diminish, or control. The inner work is keeping the building-up purpose fixed at the center of how he leads.
Aim your authority at making people flourish — developing, encouraging, and strengthening them — rather than at keeping them in line through fear. Even when correction is needed, frame and deliver it to build up, not to cast down. Ask regularly whether those under your authority are growing larger or shrinking. Use power to enlarge people, not to manage them small.
Leaders justify authority used to intimidate or diminish as necessary firmness, never noticing that it is casting people down rather than building them up. The blind spot is mistaking control that shrinks people for strength that leads them.
Pick one person under your authority and ask honestly whether your leadership has been building them up or cutting them down. This week, take one concrete action that clearly builds them up.
The same authority can be used to make people flourish or to make them fearful, to build them into who they could become or to cut them down to keep them small. The power is identical; the purpose is everything.
Is the authority you hold leaving the people under it built up — or quietly cast down?