By Dennis Pollock
I was in a men’s Bible study recently that was based on a series of books in which control was portrayed as entirely evil. It was so strongly condemned that the word “control” was made out to be almost a curse word, an idol that destroys lives, families, and churches. This is a popular notion these days. Often, we hear of a “controlling person” or someone who has “control issues,” and our kneejerk reaction is to think: “I hope that is not me. The last thing I want to do is control anything or anybody.”
But when I hear such ideas, my response is to think: “what if we go the opposite way and refuse to control anything? What kind of world would this be if everybody gave up all efforts to control everything?” Imagine two men who buy houses next to each other, both needing a whole lot of work. The yards are a foot high and overgrown with weeds; the windows are broken out; the roofs leak; and on both lawns, there are several rusted, junky cars beyond hope.
One of the men is industrious and gets to work immediately. He mows his lawn, replaces the broken windows, has the junky cars towed away, gives his house a new coat of paint, and fixes his leaky roof. But the other man does nothing. After a month, the houses could hardly look any different. But if you ask the man why he hasn’t done any repairs, he justifies his lack of ambition because he doesn’t want to be controlling, like his neighbor. He just sits on his rotting porch singing “Que sera, sera, whatever will be will be.”
Control is not always bad, and refusing to exercise control is not always virtuous. One thing that is obvious is that Christians are called to control themselves. Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24). And Paul declares that self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Most Christians would not question this, but some find fault when people make any effort to control other people. Sure, you can control yourself, but leave everybody else alone, and let them control themselves.
Leaders Control
But there is also a problem with that. There are some people who, by necessity, must exercise a measure of control over other people. This is called leadership. When the apostle Paul lists some of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to believers, he includes the gift of “administration.” This is the ability to organize people and churches to serve God well. One Bible version calls this “gifts of leadership,” and another version calls it simply “managing.” But to manage is to control. If you don’t control a situation, business, or group, you’re not managing it at all. And in any endeavor, whether spiritual or secular, where there is no control of management or leadership, the result will always be failure.
When Benedicta and I were travelling to Africa for conferences and evangelistic meetings, I often sent her ahead of me to organize the meetings. Sometimes, when pastors saw an African lady coming to organize things, they showed her little respect and urged her to give them the money she had brought. They assured her that they would take care of all the details, and she could relax in her hotel room. But Benedicta would have no part of that. She never surrendered her place of authority. For the meetings, she determined the budget and personally managed the expenses and plans. Some of the pastors were shocked and felt that she was very controlling. But Benedicta was simply doing her job, and she was not about to hand the pastors a bunch of money and let them do as they pleased. She managed things well and made sure all went smoothly. This was an example of good control. Had she not done this, she would not have been doing her job.
In the Book of Romans, Paul writes: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” (Romans 13:1). In Hebrews we read: “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.” (Hebrews 13:17). Whether in the church or in the government, there will always be leaders whose job it is to exercise a measure of control over other people.
Entrepreneurs
When you study the lives of successful entrepreneurs, you find that they all have an element of control in their personality. Sloppy, disorganized, lackadaisical, careless men and women will never make it as entrepreneurs. They would be far better working for someone who pays them hourly or monthly wages. People who excel in the business world are always very self-disciplined, not timid in letting their employees know exactly what they expect, and in making sure that they fulfill their responsibilities. To lead a multi-million-dollar corporation, or to pastor a mega-church of ten thousand or more people, you had better be able to keep things and your staff under control.
Even going way back to the Book of Genesis, we can see that Joseph was a born leader and administrator. After he finished interpreting Pharaoh’s dream for him, and telling him to expect 7 years of plenty and then seven years of drought and hardship, this administrative gift kicked in, and he encouraged the leader of Egypt to select a wise man to organize a food-saving campaign:
“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.” (Genesis 41:33-36)
In the power of the Holy Spirit, Joseph gave Pharaoh the organizational strategy that would save Egypt. Pharaoh needed no further convincing and appointed Joseph as leader on the spot. As a 30-year-old young man, Joseph would control an entire nation and lead and direct hundreds, if not thousands, of delegated workers in this God-given project.
The Apostle Paul
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul could have been described as having a controlling personality. He had men who admired and followed him, and he felt perfect freedom to send them to various churches as he was led by the Spirit. He wrote to the churches that looked to him for apostolic leadership and told them, in very specific terms, how the believers must behave, who should or should not be considered as elders, and he even gave instructions about excommunicating a man who had been involved in sexual immorality.
There is a word in the New Testament that people absolutely despise: “submission.” The Bible commands church members to submit to their leaders, wives to their husbands, children to submit to and obey their parents, and citizens to submit to the governing authorities that rule in their nation. This implies that some people control and direct others, never totally, but at least in some measure. There would be no point in telling people to submit to leadership if their attitude was, “Ain’t nobody gonna control me about nothin’!”
The Lordship of Jesus
Of course, our ultimate submission is to Jesus Christ, and that is why we call Him “Lord,” meaning He’s the boss. To receive Jesus and be born again involves believing: believing that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose again from the dead, that we might be justified in the sight of God. But in believing, we also submit. We make Jesus our Lord and give Him total control over our lives. And sometimes He delegates some of His control to His disciples, making them parents, church leaders, bosses, and business owners. And with that delegated authority and leadership position, we will exercise a measure of control over people’s lives. And when we find ourselves in that position, we will do well to heed some of the final words of King David:
He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling in the fear of God. (2 Samuel 23:3)
