There is much to occupy our thoughts these days, boundaries included. A physician, with a white coat and a title is supposed to “do no harm.” A trust officer at your bank should protect your assets, not exhaust them. A psychologist must strictly keep your confidences. An employer should value her employee. A pastor should give comfort and assurance to a congregant. We trust them.

At the center of boundary issues is the one of power. Whether warranted or not, doctors, lawyers, pastors and counselors all have an advantage in the power they hold over us. That is why laws regarding sexual harassment, job discrimination, and domestic abuse are in place. In the interaction between employer/employee, pastor/congregant or financial trustee/investor, the boundaries of power are supremely important. Abuse of power calls into question the integrity of the powerful and damages the personhood of the least powerful.

By my reasoning, if our personal authority figures explicity direct us to vote for their candidate, it is a misuse of free speech. Every person is entitled to express an opinion, but a financial adviser should not tell a client for whom to vote, nor should an employer tell her employee for whom to vote, nor a pastor tell her or his parishioner for whom to vote.

Authority figures have power that is not subtle: “Maybe I’ll lose my job if I don’t do what the boss says,” or “the pastor may think I am not a true Christian if I do not follow her/his advice.” Free speech is protected in our constitution, but abuse of power is not ethical, often illegal, and always destructive of relationships between and among individuals.

Thoburn Thompson

medical doctor

Albert Lea