November 22
Enough Authority to Help
We can be so afraid of becoming controlling that we hesitate to make any decision. A trusted servant brings every small matter back to the group, apologizes for offering an opinion, and waits for permission already given. This can look humble. It can also leave other people doing the work of judgment that the position was meant to carry. Nobody quite knows who may act.
The Concepts recognize that service needs usable authority. A responsibility without room to exercise judgment is difficult to fulfill. For those of us who have swung between taking over and disappearing, this offers another possibility: accept a defined task, act within it, and remain answerable. We can ask for guidance without making uncertainty somebody else's permanent burden. Humility leaves us teachable after a decision as well as before one. It need not keep us motionless when people are depending on us.
Where am I declining to use authority that has already been entrusted to me?
We may be able to act and remain teachable.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII, Warranty One.