This last week I had asked our counseling pastor Kathy to bring the sermon on Ruth as part of our Christmas series The Women Who Brought Us Jesus. She kept coming back to me for feedback on her topic, direction, etc. and at one point I told her that a direction she was going would not really work within the series. An hour after that conversation it struck me that I had just denied someone’s leading and in effect had stifled their voice. I had power in the relationship and had used that power to further my voice at the expense of the way the Holy Spirit spoke through someone else and I was dead wrong. We can throw in the gender issues as well to add to my error, and I felt that little tap on the shoulder from the Holy Spirit asking me what I was planning to do to make this situation right. I have to admit I sat on it for a little while and then finally contacted Kathy to tell her that I misspoke, was wrong and that I needed to trust her leading. I apologized for my trampling of her voice and, thankfully, she was quick to forgive me. I realized that I had been using my power in an unhealthy way, and must say that I had no idea it would be as easy as it was to abuse power. I thought that there would be some obvious point at which crossing this line would be an abuse of power, but it doesn’t happen that way, it seems perfectly reasonable and right to cross a line I wasn’t even looking for or thinking about, until I looked back briefly to see this glaring error behind me.
I have to say her speaking turned out awesome and you should definitely listen to what Kathy taught us on Sunday about Ruth. (Click here to listen.)
An Extroverted Quaker 