In some local churches, I have seen brothers who act as elders by putting on a front. They say, "Oh, I am an elder!" They assume an elder's bearing and speak with an elder's tone. I must tell you that there is nothing more ugly in the church than to see such a thing. Please remember that the amount of love a person has is the amount of authority he possesses. A person can only exercise authority over those he loves. Without love, there will be no basis for authority. Do not expect that you can exercise authority over those whom you do not love. There is no such thing. Why is it that often a stepmother has no position to exercise authority over her children? And why is it that even when she exercises authority, the children may not accept it? The reason is that there is no maternal love. Maternal love is the basis for a mother to exercise her authority over her children. Without love there is no ground for exercising authority. Therefore, we must see that the degree of love there is in a person is the degree of authority he can exercise. Love is the basis of authority and the power behind it.

It never works for an elder to try to assume authority in the church by force. Not only will this not be pleasing in the eyes of men, but it will have no confirmation from the Holy Spirit. You can assume your authority, but the Holy Spirit will not be there. You can only be an authority on one basis, and that is in love. If you genuinely love the brothers and sisters, the love itself will become the control, and it will become your authority over others. Whether toward the whole church, or toward a few brothers and sisters, you must remember that if you do not have any love, you must never exercise your authority, and you must never try to be involved in the affairs of others. If you try to be involved in their business, you are controlling, and you are assuming authority. If you want to be involved in the affairs of others, and if you want to control and to be the authority, you must first spread out your love as a ground for you to step on. If you do not have love as the basis of authority, you will not have the ground for you to step on, and it will not work for you to try to be the authority. You can tell the Lord, "Lord, I cannot do anything, because I do not have a foundation stone; I cannot build upon anything. There is no stepping stone beneath me; I have nowhere to put my foot." I hope that the elders would clearly realize where they themselves are in this matter. Towards the church, towards an individual, or towards a group, if you have never exercised love and have never laid a groundwork of love, you might as well forget about being involved in their affairs, for if you do, you do not have an adequate realization concerning yourself. Strictly speaking, to be an authority, as we put it, is simply love. You have to love the church, to love the brothers and sisters. This love will then become your authority.

Suppose someone is in trouble and you are asked to help. If you do not have a love for him, you cannot solve the problem. It is actually not your purpose to solve his problems, but to love him, to be concerned for him, and to bear his burden. Not only should you bear the matter as a burden, but you should bear the person as a burden. Only when you have this frame of mind will you be able to solve the problem and bring the brother through. If this is lacking, even if the brother has a broken skull and his face is bleeding, I would advise the elders to stay at home and sleep, and not try to take care of the situation. I believe you understand what I mean. This way of meddling is useless; it is a vain exercise of authority. It is to be an authority with no basis whatsoever, and it is equivalent to being a busybody. It is true that you are an elder in the church, but what you do will not work, because there is no love. An authority can only function in love. In other words, love is authority transformed. The love you exercise toward the brothers and sisters is the authority. Without this love, it will not work to try to be an authority.