Exercising Authority

2 Corinthians 10:8 For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord has given for building you up and not for overthrowing you, I will not be put to shame.
13:10 Therefore I write these things while being absent in order that when present I would not have to use severity, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for building up and not for overthrowing.

God is the God of love, grace, and mercy; He is also the God of righteousness. Mostly, as children of God, we enjoy His love, grace, and mercy. And very rarely we are ready to face His righteousness. And if we do, we are in fear and trembling before God, if we have a proper heart and attitude towards God. Sooner or later, a believer who has been enjoying God's love, grace, and mercy will also have to face God's righteousness where God exercises His authority.

The same goes for the believers, all of us,  in our day to day living. Be it at home, or school, or office, or in the church, God has His place for authority which is mostly based on His righteousness. I personally love the sweeter side of God's face. His love is wonderful, His grace more, and His mercy much more. When faced with situations I always try the way of love, grace, and mercy first. But certain case needs the exercise of god's authority. Today I was put into such a case, and I need to exercise the authority God bestowed upon me to carry out His works, both in the church and in my official works.

Due to the nation lockdown in India for the 21 days, which was just extended to another two weeks till 3rd May, officially we were not in a position to print HWMR for the saints. We have started a pilot project pioneering with Tamil language to bring the HWMR in eBook format. The brothers who were working on this worked really hard to bring it on time. When all was done and released electronically to be purchased online, the very next day of the release, we received a circulated copy of a pirated version. This was like pouring cold water on a flickering flame that suddenly doused off the dim light. 

Officially, I and my brother with whom I coordinate had no choice but to take action. We fellowshipped and did whatever we were supposed to do within the limit of the authority God has given us. I personally would love to exercise grace and mercy and simply forgive the brother who did it. But I cannot nullify the righteousness of God. Therefore, I personally made a call to the concerned brother directly and spoke to him. He immediately confessed his mistake. I told him not to repeat the mistake ever again, and also asked him to tell all the people to whom he sent the file to delete and purchase the legal version. Besides, we also wrote an official letter to the church elders in the locality where the brother belongs. And the necessary actions were taken. 

Another incident was with the church WhatsApp group. In fellowship, I had written an appeal to all the group members to make use of the church's group for church purposes only. But a particular sister kept violating the appeal. In fact, some saints got so annoyed with her and suggested that I remove her from the group. Yes, I did consider removing her but, decided to give her more grace for her to realize. An appeal was written, a reminder was sent by some group members to her when she violated the norms, and I also sent her a personal message requesting her not to keep forwarding irrelevant messages or posts. Though she replied she would comply, she would still violate what she promised to keep. 

Today morning she posted a piece of political news and a joke. The moment I saw it, deep within me, I had a strong conviction that I needed to exercise the authority the Lord has given me for the shepherding of the church. So I politely reprimanded her in the group and requested her to rather share her experiences and enjoyment of Christ for the spiritual benefit of all the members. Well, the message may seem quite strong, perhaps. But deep within I felt that was what I needed to do as one of the admins. And I felt quite peaceful doing so. Otherwise, I would be like a father leaving the house too open to let children do whatever they want. She did apologize and left the group. What the brothers wanted was actually being done not by me removing her, but by her realizing her fault and leaving it with apologies.

These two experiences became a treasure to me today. I had no intention whatsoever of overthrowing anybody. But with the burden for the learning, benefit, and building up of all the members in the church's group, I did so. The exercise of authority, when needed, is all for the building up. And my heart is all for the building up.