Driving down to the airport recently, I was passed by a pick-up truck that added insult to injury by proclaiming from its back bumper a statement that I have seen before, perhaps you have too:

"God said it. I believe it. That settles it."

I spent no little time pondering that strange statement of faith. The implication, of course, is that the matter is simply not up for discussion. The occupant of that pick-up claims complete clarity of understanding of the Bible...which is a pretty neat trick considering the rest of humanity has been arguing about it for the past few thousand years.

I drove on and wondered what that sticker was revealing about its owner. Several options presented themselves including simple stupidity and

abject irresponsibility but eventually I landed upon one word that, I believed, best revealed the nature of that bumper sticker.

The word is fear.

And that fear consumes individual initiative and creative thought. It destroys the very thing that Jesus sought to develop within all of us. It also raises the issue of authority.

How can authority be exercised without generating the kind of mind-killing fear revealed in that bumper sticker?

I remember another encounter with authority.

I was on the interstate. Over ten years ago, just on the other side of Idaho Springs, a small town near where I live. I was pulled over by the familiar blinking lights of our state patrol.

I watched with a combination of embarrassment and anger as the big state trooper lumbered toward my formerly speeding vehicle. From behind sunglasses he asked for my license and proof of insurance. I turned them over wondering how much my stupidity was going to cost me.

With something of a growl, the trooper asked what I did in Summit County.

Even more embarrassed, I confessed my occupation.

"Hey, I'm a Lutheran, too!" he exclaimed and I immediately felt my prospects improve.

"Miracles do happen" I thought to myself as I engaged in pleasant banter with my friend in Christ.

After a few minutes, the trooper made me promise to never speed through that section of interstate again.

And you know what? I never do.

That promise he extracted was far more effective than any ticket he could ever have written.

And that, I think, is most revealing about the nature of authority.