Practice What You Preach | Moral Authority 3

Imagine having the power to influence people in any area of life even when they do not agree with or support your point of view. I will attempt to illustrate what I mean. Some years ago I heard the story of a young lady who was studying at a liberal arts college in the city of Atlanta. One of her courses was on persuasive speech. The student’s final grade was subject to their ability to persuade their classmates by giving a speech on a subject of their choosing followed by a Q&A session. It was the students themselves who would score their peers’ presentation. For this reason, the students as a rule of thumb shied away from controversial subjects such as politics and religion.  

 This student, on the other hand, chose a very controversial subject, abortion. To make matters worse, she chose to speak against abortion. As you might imagine, her speech failed to persuade anyone. As she struggled through the Q&A session, the entire class turned against her. One student angrily asked, “You mean to tell me that if you got raped, you would not have an abortion?” At this point, the young lady bowed her head and walked off the podium. She walked over to her desk, went into her purse, pulled out her wallet and returned to the podium. From her wallet, she pulled out a picture and showed it to her teacher and classmates. She addressed the class and said, almost two years ago I was raped and this is the picture of my baby daughter. I never found out if this student was able to convince anyone, but what I do know is that her classmates gave her a perfect score. They didn’t give her a perfect score because they felt sorry for her but because her words matched her actions. When what you preach is what you practice, you’ve gained moral authority. 

 Positional authority gives you power over others but it does not necessarily mean that you are going to be a positive influence on them. When a parent, pastor, or any person in a position of leadership lacks moral authority no one feels compelled to follow them. People who sacrifice their integrity for the sake of a promotion or a raise commit a grave mistake because they are sacrificing something that cannot be purchased, the ability to influence. It is movements preaching against hate all the while hating those they disagree with and Christians preaching about God’s love while condemning those who do not believe as they do. Positions will come and go but moral authority is something you have or lack whether or not you have a position. 

And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. – John 13:14-15 NLT