Why
do some religious leaders misuse power?
Kim: Jesus, I have
met many people, especially Catholics, who are dismayed and disappointed
by what they see as misuse of power or corruption in church leadership
or in organized religion in general.
It seems to me that there is an inherent danger in the leadership
of any religious organization that easily leads to abuse of power.
I especially see these problems:
- Some religious
leaders seem to feel that they are above and beyond the members
of their church.
- Some leaders
seem to expect blind obedience from those below them in rank, tolerating
no dissents or even questioning.
- Some leaders
believe they speak for God and therefore they must be infallible.
- Some leaders
tend to become very rigid, almost fanatical, in their approach to
religion or to having power. They cling to certain interpretations
of scripture and refuse to look at any ideas that go beyond their
beliefs.
- Some leaders
attempt to use fear to force their followers into submission to
church hierarchy or blind acceptance of church doctrines.
What is your view
of leadership in modern churches?
Jesus: Obviously,
the members of many churches, both Christian and non-Christian, have
been exposed to misuses of power by their leaders. I have no desire
to ignore or deny a fact which can be clearly observed by any objective
person.
However, I would like to step back from the issue so that we, instead
of focusing on the leaders of a particular church, look at the challenges
faced by leaders of any religious organization. By gaining a greater
understanding of the psychological mechanisms that relate specifically
to church leadership, we might help people gain a different perspective.
Misuse of power occurs in almost every religious organization, and it
is important to understand why.
In the material universe everything is at two-edged sword. There is
nothing we, meaning the spiritual teachers of humankind, can say or
do which the carnal mind cannot misinterpret and misuse. This especially
applies to giving people power.
Let us begin by acknowledging that the majority of people on Earth are
somewhat lukewarm when it comes to religion. They are sitting on the
fence, not willing to take responsibility for their own lives, much
less for the salvation of the entire planet. So the people who are attracted
to religious organizations, and especially those who are willing to
take on the responsibility of leadership, are people who are not lukewarm.
They are zealous people, they are doers and some of them are leaders
instead of followers.
Now, you will recall that I said it was better to be hot or cold than
to be lukewarm. With that I meant that there is no such thing as a lukewarm
disciple of Christ. Obviously, there are lukewarm people who think that
because they belong to a particular church they are acting as disciples
of Christ. Yet this is an illusion.
To be a true disciple of Christ, you have to be on fire for doing something
that reaches beyond your own self interest. The distinction that needs
to be made here is that being zealous is not the same as being a true
disciple of Christ.
A true disciple is on fire for a cause, but pursues that cause in a
balanced manner. A true disciple avoids the extremes, the black-and-white
perspectives, that spring from the relativity and duality of the carnal
mind. Such a disciple diligently pursues the balanced perspective, the
middle way, of the Christ consciousness.
What I am trying to explain is that the type of people who are attracted
to leadership positions in a religious organization are those who are
either hot or cold. What does it mean to be hot or cold? Both types
of people are zealous and willing to work for a cause. A hot person
has found some measure of balance, whereas a cold person has not (yet)
attained this balance. Therefore, a cold person tends to take a black-and-white
approach to life and religion. This causes some cold people to work
for a true cause, while others work for a false cause.
A perfect example was Paul, who was highly zealous, yet was working
against me. The saving grace of a cold person is that because he or
she is moving, it is possible for a spiritual teacher to redirect the
person’s zeal towards a worthy cause. This is what happened to
Paul.
Yet working for a true cause does not necessarily mean that the person
has made real spiritual progress. It only means that the person is no
longer making the karma of working for an unworthy cause.
In other words, a person can be zealously working in a church and still
be unbalanced and follow the way that seems right unto a man. It is
an unpopular fact that a person might fulfill all of the outer requirements
for being a disciple, while still being an anti-disciple. The real challenge
for such a person is to let go of the unbalanced approach, attain balance
and thereby step on to the inner path. Paul never quite attained this
balance, although he did make great strides.
In most religious organizations, you find a mixture of both unbalanced
and balanced leaders. We now need to consider what happens when an unbalanced
person attains a leadership position in a religious organization.
As I said, few people are attracted to such positions unless they feel
it is important to work for God's purposes. Therefore, almost all such
people will feel a sense of importance, even ultimate importance, because
they truly believe they are working for God's will and God’s purposes.
They also believe that doing so is more important than doing any worldly
task. This in itself is not wrong. However, when an unbalanced person
embraces this world view and attains power in a religious organization,
you have the possibility for misuse of power.
Because the unbalanced person does not understand the need to reach
for the middle way of the Christ consciousness and does not have discernment
to see that middle way, the unbalanced person will often adopt a black-and-white
perspective. The person embraces a certain doctrine or paradigm as being
an absolute or infallible truth.
This causes the person to believe that any ideas that seem to contradict
or go beyond the person's world view are wrong in an absolute sense.
In other words, the person begins to believe that he or she is engaged
in an absolute battle between good and evil and that the distinction
between good and evil can be defined in terms of black and white. Unfortunately,
because of the unbalanced state, the person defines the distinction
between good and evil based on the duality of the carnal mind.
The person then begins to believe it is of epic importance that he or
she imposes the “only” truth upon the organization and the
members of that organization. This can lead to a, sometimes subtle and
unrecognized, belief that the person is now a representative of or a
spokesman for God or the Ascended Host. In other words, the person will
feel that if you speak out against his “absolute” truth,
you are speaking out against God, and therefore it is necessary and
justified that the leader imposes his or her will over yours. In extreme
cases, this can lead people to feel that almost any means are justified
to uphold what they have come to see as the only true standard of God.
My crucifixion and the Inquisition being obvious examples.
What actually happens in this process is that such unbalanced leaders
begin to feel that because their cause is of absolute importance, it
is both necessary and justified that they attempt to assume a position
of absolute power. In other words, they begin to believe that because
they are working for God and working for the only true cause, they should
have absolute power. They think they have the absolute backing of God
for everything they do.
It has been stated that all power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts
absolutely. There is much truth to this statement. It is very difficult
for a human being to be in a position of absolute power, whether this
is real power or perceived power, without letting it go to one's head
and then exercising it in an unbalanced manner. The only way to avoid
being corrupted by absolute power is to be completely centered in the
middle way of the Christ consciousness.
Any person who is not centered in the middle way, whether it be because
of psychological imbalances, incomplete beliefs or past-life momentums,
will inevitably swing towards the extremes and therefore misuse power
to some degree. This is simply an inevitable consequence of allowing
oneself to feel that one is in a position of absolute power.
Therefore, a Christed being will not allow oneself to feel that one
is in such a position. One will realize that only God and the will of
God has absolute power and that even God bows to the free will of human
beings. One might say that although God has absolute power, he is not
exercising that power because he has given people free will. Therefore,
no leader can rightfully claim to have the backing of God and at the
same time show disrespect for people’s free will.
Do you see the subtle, yet all-important distinction here? If you truly
have the backing of God, you will show the same uncompromising respect
for the free will of your fellow disciples that we of the Ascended Host
show for all people. There is no middle ground here. You are either
on the middle way of the Christ or you are in one of the many extremes
defined by the carnal mind.
Kim: So what can people do to get out of the imbalanced state
and attain balance?
Jesus: With
all thy getting, get understanding. You cannot solve a problem until
you recognize that there is a problem and begin to understand what causes
the problem. So people must begin by recognizing that an unbalanced
use of power is a problem that needs to be dealt with if they are serious
about their personal salvation. You cannot take these imbalances with
you to Heaven. They simply will not be tolerated in this realm.
To avoid falling into the trap of becoming an unbalanced, one might
say fanatical, religious person, it is necessary to take assertive action.
I have given several spiritual tools on this website that will help
anyone overcome religious fanaticism.
To start, I recommend that people study the teachings on spiritual
leadership in this modern age.
I also recommend the teaching on how to free yourself from the spiritual
poisons LINK. That teachings also has references to other tools.
For another discourse that talks about the two types of leaders and
what happens when they become unbalanced, click
here.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
