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Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted
among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to
governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to
commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you
should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. (1Peter 2:13-15)
How often have we seen civil authorities as the enemy? In many movies,
television shows and books we paint police and politicians as evil (or
at least as incompetent) people who should be disobeyed.
The Apostle Peter -- the guy who wrote the Bible passage above -- once
cut off the ear of a man coming to arrest Jesus (do you honestly think
he was just aiming for the man's ear?). Later on in his life, Peter
still had plenty of reasons to mistrust civil authority. He was flogged,
beaten, imprisoned, and finally crucified upside down by the "king and
governors" he writes about -- all of this for speaking the truth about
Jesus.
That he would obey civil authority at all is amazing. That he would
encourage other Christians to do so is mind-boggling. He becomes more
concerned about the reputation of Christ than about his own sense of
justice. He submits himself to the laws of the land as long as they
don't break the higher law of God (that is, after all, what got him
killed).
We, in the Western world, enjoy more freedoms than people at any time in
history. We've just been reminded by the discoveries in Iraq. So let us
obey the laws we do have to the glory of Jesus; that is, until the time
when our obedience to the state becomes disobedience to God.
In Him,
Mike
eDevotions written by Mike Sares. © 2005. |
