Influence obtained through manipulation or inauthenticity gives you power, not authority.

Authority is earned. Power is taken by force.

There is a culture of love and freedom where there is authority.

In a culture dominated by power there is fear and control.

Authority values authenticity. Power focuses on facades; cares more about appearances.

If you have to be inauthentic to gain a following, that’s manipulation. Be who God called you to be. Be more concerned with what God thinks than man. I promise you that the level of freedom you walk in when your concern is in what your Heavenly Father thinks than what man thinks is superior. If you gain influence with a focus on perception, you’ll have to keep it through perception; and perception is not reality.

Being inauthentic leads to an identity crisis. When who you say you are doesn’t match who you really are, it leads to insecurity, depression, and anxiety.

Be unapologetically authentic. It’s the only way to truly be loved and to love. Being authentic doesn’t give us permission to be rude, arrogant, or dishonoring. It gives us permission to be who God called us to be.

I care more about you than what you think of me.

Ford Taylor

May we authentically walk in our God-given purpose. When authority comes, we’ll know how to lead as Jesus did; as the one who most served.