Respect for Authority

You've probably seen a lot of....we'll say "spirited" talk about the President lately...it is election season, after all.  Every time I open a newspaper, turn on the TV, even log in to Facebook, I seem to be bombarded with hateful statements about the President and the government. I think what startles me the most about all this is that the most hateful things are coming from people who lead prayer and worship in church!

Believe it or not, the same thing was happening in ancient Rome. The Apostle Paul noticed the detrimental effect it had on the people he was teaching, so we addressed it in his letter to the Romans:

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do.

In Romans 13, Paul gives some great advice for us today, too. It's easy to get wrapped up in it all and foster rebellious and disrespectful sentiment towards the government. God calls us to be better than that, and even goes so far as to saying that being rebellious and disrespectful to the government is the EXACT SAME as being rebellious and disrespectful to Him!

Paul points out that the authorities are only there because God Himself put them there for a purpose, His purpose. God asks us to trust that HE IS IN CONTROL and work with the authorities, just as we would with Him.

Does that mean we always have to agree with them? No! We should be engaged, and God doesn't say we should be unplugged from everything. On the contrary, God calls us to work with them, because like us, they are His servants too.

In today's seemingly out of control world, with all the hateful speech going on, isn't it great to know we have an all powerful God who's in control?

Encounter: As Christians, will we enter into the fray and speak/post hateful things about our leaders, or "For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the [President] as head of state,or the officials he has appointed" as Peter says followers of Jesus should?