Spiritual Perspective on Human Authority

While the question of the scope of human authority over creation isn't totally cut and dry, it is much less complicated than the issue of people having authority over one another.  Since humans are by no means perfect and frequently making selfish decisions, this authority will eventually be abused in some form.  This is why the American government has many limits on the authority of the government, as government is one tool that people use to exert authority over each other.  The church is another form of organization where this can happen.  Historically the Catholic Church specifically has a pretty bad record in that regard, but nearly all churches face that issue to some degree.

Authority can be used to help people, or to exert control over them.  Parents have authority over their children, a concept which is very explicitly laid out in the Bible.  The Bible's principles about respecting the authority of parents or governments or church elders implicitly condone believers living within a hierarchical structure.

I recently heard an explanation of how spiritual authority works, and while I can not confirm that it is entirely accurate, it includes some interesting ideas.  Every time someone overcomes temptation, they receive a bit more grace.  People who are older will naturally have accumulated more, but those who live irresponsibly will not.  This is the system behind the Bible's value for respecting one's elders.  That grace can be bestowed on others through a prayer or blessing, passing it on from one generation to the next.  This is illustrated in Isaac blessing Jacob instead of Esau, and Jacob blessing Ephraim over Manasseh.  While on one level these blessings appear to simply be some eloquent encouraging words, they are actually changing things on the spiritual level.  Once Esau returned to his father Isaac, it was too late, his grace and blessing had already been bestowed on Jacob, and could not be taken back.

I am not sure exactly how that all works, but that limited explanation does seem to fit the events I see described in the Bible.  In a similar way, God anoints people for certain tasks, and gives them the authority to perform them.  Moses passed his mantle of authority to Joshua when he died.  Samuel led Israel, and passed that anointing on to David.  Elijah passed a "double portion of his spirit" to Elisha, anointing Elisha to continue his ministry.  This is just one of many possible examples of how simple actions in the physical world can have significant impact in the spiritual world.  In the same way, handing someone a large check is a simple action in the physical world, but immense value can be changing hands in the financial world, depending on the specifics of what is written on that slip of paper.