Lighthouse Laws
A Power or Right
Chicken Lady
Power of Belief
God-Ordained Authorities
Official Answer
Resources
His sheep follow him because they know His voice
Topic : Authority
Stand Up
Cheryl Reimold, an authority about body language, once said, “If you stand up to address a seated person, you gain height and a certain amount of temporary power. But if you face a person directly, on his level (whether sitting or standing), you are more likely to establish communication.”
Queen Victoria knew that.
The queen and her husband, Prince Albert, quarreled about something early in their marriage. Albert walked out of the room and went to his private quarters. Victoria followed, found the door locked, and began pounding on it.
“Who’s there?” Prince Albert asked.
“The Queen of England,” was the reply. But the door remained locked.
More pounding followed, but then there was a pause. The next sound was that of a gently tap.
“Who’s there?” Albert inquired.
The queen’s reply: “Your wife, Albert.”
Prince Albert opened the door immediately.
Lighthouse Laws
In U.S. Navel Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse.
Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”
“Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out.
The lookout replied, “Steady, Captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship: ‘We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.’“
Back came the signal, “Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees.”
The captain said, “Send: “I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.’“
“I’m a seaman second-class,” came the reply. “You had better change course twenty degrees.”
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, “Send: ‘I’m a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.’”
Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”
We changed course.
A Power or Right
This concept of authority as something that causes another person to “do what you want him to do” is reflected in most definitions. For instance, the Random House Dictionary of the English Language speaks of authority as “a power or right to direct the actions or thoughts of others. Authority is a power or right, usually because of rank or office, to issue commands and to punish for violations.” Again the root idea seems to be control or direction of the actions of others.
We see this same idea even in sophisticated examinations of authority. For instance, William Oncken, Jr., in a 1970 Colorado Institute of Technology Journal, gives an analysis of authority that suggests it is comprised of four elements:
1. The Authority of Competence: the more competent the other fellow knows you are, the more confident he will be that you know what you are talking about and the more likely he will be to follow your orders, requests, or suggestions. He will think of you as an authority in the matter under consideration and will feel it risky to ignore your wishes.
2. The Authority of Position: This component gives you the right to tell someone, “Do it or else.” It has teeth. “The boss wants it” is a bugle call that can snap many an office or shop into action.
3. The Authority of Personality: The easier it is for the other fellow to talk to you, to listen to you, or to work with you, the easier he will find it to respond to your wishes.
4. The Authority of Character: This component is your “credit rating” with other people as to your integrity, reliability, honesty, loyalty, sincerity, personal morals, and ethics. Obviously you will get more and better from a man who has respect for your character than from one who hasn’t.
Chicken Lady
When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished.
As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.
“Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?”
“Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.”
“But I’m starved,” the governor said.
“Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.
“Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.”
“Do you know who I am?” the woman said. “I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”
Power of Belief
For centuries people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong.
Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle’s death. In 1589
Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right.
God-Ordained Authorities
- Government: Rom 13, 1 Pt 2:17
- Employer: Eph 6, 1 Pt 2:18
- Husband: 1 Pt 3:1, Col 3:18, Eph 5:22
- Parent: Eph 6
- Elders: Heb 13:17
Official Answer
Amy Carter brought an assignment home one Friday night while her father was still President. Stumped by a question on the Industrial Revolution, Amy sought help from her mother. Rosalynn was also fogged by the question and, in turn, asked an aide to seek clarification from the Labor Department. A “rush” was placed on the request since the assignment was due Monday.
Thinking the question was a serious request from the Prez himself, a Labor Department official immediately cranked up the government computer and kept a full team of technicians and programmers working overtime all weekend … at a reported cost of several hundred thousand dollars. The massive computer printout was finally delivered by truck to the White House on Sunday afternoon and Amy showed up in class with the official answer the following day. But her history teacher was not impressed. When Any’s paper was returned, it was marked with a big red “C.”
Resources
- Between Two Truths, Klyne Snodgrass, Zondervan, 1990, p.81
- Authority in The Church, R. Saucy, Walvoord: A Tribute, Donald
- Campbell, ed., Moody, 1982, p. 219.
His sheep follow him because they know His voice
"Deep within California's remote and rugged desert mountain ranges, living on the brink of extinction, less than a thousand bighorn sheep maintain a fragile grip on the future. Their hope lies with the crop of lambs born each winter. In preparation for this moment, ewes wander alone into the rocky wilderness to find quiet nooks where they give birth. Few people have ever seen a newborn lamb, but a couple of days after birth it is frisking about like a colt and ready to rejoin the rest of the herd. More lambs are born and survive during years with lots of fresh, green vegetation, but in the face of introduced diseases, predation by mountain lions and disturbance by hikers nothing is certain in the world of bighorn sheep. NATURAL HISTORY Bighorns are intelligent, playful and mischievous. One scientist raised a lamb and watched as it learned the rituals of the household, came to recognize voice commands (better than a dog) and slept with a litter of kittens. The lamb even claimed a seat in the family car." LOS ANGELES TIMES February 15, 2005 FIELD GUIDE Bighorn sheep David Lukas
