Leading Men Among the Brethren

An old title, that, but still relevant, although the "men" is gradually becoming "man".

Personally, I'm anti-authority. People have told me I am, and I believe them. Ho ho. No, but seriously, I find it very hard to treat anyone who's in charge with any more deference than I think every human being deserves. Most people have something I can learn from, I find, and my regard for them (in the sense of being prepared to accept what they say) is adjusted according to how they prove themselves in that.

And I think that's the Christian way. I don't say that meaning that it's all the justification required, but as a statement of fact. The apostle Paul says "Let him that is a prophet or spiritual recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord's commandment". (Quoted from memory, but I think at least the gist is correct). Now, I doubt many brethren would agree, but I take that to mean that Paul didn't expect to be obeyed because of who he was, but because anyone with any moral capacity would measure what he said and find it to have merit. The message is important, not the messenger.

This is something that has slipped a long way among the brethren, and unashamedly so. The most frightening thing I have heard in years is "we'll do the thinking, you do the doing", especially as it's treated as a statement of great wisdom. It's held to be a sign of someone barely Christian if they're questioning something that's been said; even the questioning attitude is an ongoing sin.

I'll come back to that another time.

What I was coming to in this case is that, given all the above, you would expect anyone in authority to be fairly special, and have proved themselves to be source of help, wisdom, and above all, guaranteed correctness in the sense of having been proved repeatedly right about things.

But no. What actually counts is the following:

- Money
- Name
- Connections
- Information
- Obedience to the point of slavish idiocy

I've put them in that order, because they depend on each other. If you would like to be important among the brethren (and more fool you, because it's likely to be a short ugly career), you won't get anywhere unless you have serious cash by comparison with others around you. Then you need connections, as most often importance spreads by contagion, and you need contact to catch it, and the most likely way to get connections is to have the right name. It's not impossible without, but it's much harder. Then what proves you're important is that you have information, which is a currency even more valuable than, well, currency.

The last point is an ongoing one. You must be prepared to do exactly what you're told, however ridiculous, and do it that very second. Anything else will prove that you're attempting to compete with the top man, and that's the ultimate sin. What's more, you must also be prepared to accept that it was totally your own fault if anything went wrong with what you did, even if it was under instructions, and be prepared to go back to nonimportance again for not seeing the hidden meanings in the instructions you received. I've seen this happen.

And brethren wonder why I don't take much notice of these people.