I once heard a governor of a state say that one of the problems of Nigeria is that most ministers in the cabinet are given AUTHORITY without RESPONSIBILITY. He once served as a minister. According to him, most of them only have power (absolute power) without being strictly accountable for its use.

Friend, authority without responsibility is another recipe for disaster. You need to grow in responsibility before asking for authority (Luke 15:11-14, Galatians 4:1-2). Until you can take charge of you, you are not supposed to be put in charge of things or people. Self leadership is the secret to organizational leadership. Until you can do what is right without supervision you are not to be left to stand on your own.

It is not everybody that can stand on their own in business, Church work etc. If you have not fared well under authority, you cannot enjoy autonomy. God in His wisdom will first put you under before He puts you over (Matthew 8:9, Galatians 4:1-2). It is only a man that is and has been under authority that can safely discharge authority. Jesus was subject to His parents before He could step into real ministry (Luke 2:49-51).

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). What are you learning and where are you learning from? There are things you cannot learn in classroom; you learn them in the crucible of life’s processes. It is the process that births in you the life, and it is the life that helps you to take responsibility and discharge destiny (Judges 11:4-11).

“…Ephraim is a cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8). One of the greatest disservices you can do to your destiny is to jump out of process. God is not in a hurry to do what He wants to do with you. Ephraim had a great destiny but he lived irresponsibly (Genesis 48:20, Hosea 13:13). The fact that God said you would become great does not mean that you would eventually be.

Are you growing in responsibility? Are you taking care of areas in your life that can make a mess of your destiny? Are you submitting to the processes, structures and human authorities that God has sovereignly positioned around your life (Isaiah 42:1-4)? Rather than looking for how to wield influence and authority, take your time to build a life of responsibility.

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria