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Be Subject...

             Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1) 

            Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20)

 

            Those who approve of a governing authority (or at least the authority’s philosophy) are always quick to say, “Be subject!” but the moment they no longer agree, they tend to cry, “Revolution!” And there is a sense in which God is no different. According to this passage, God establishes authorities – even bad ones. They are put in power to fulfill God’s plan, even if they are godless and cruel. This is not to say that we should never act against a despot, but that we should pray long and hard, seeking unambiguous answers about what we should do rather than reach for torches and pitchforks whenever we disagree with what leaders say or do.

            In our country, we have been given a peaceful way to “revolt.” It’s called an election, and it takes place next Tuesday. It’s your right and your responsibility to participate in this process; if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to revolt. I’ll take it one step further. If you don’t pray earnestly for your leadership's well-being and change of heart, you really don’t have a right to revolt. You haven’t done everything you could short of a revolution, and the revolution should be our last resort, not our knee-jerk reaction.

            On the other side of the equation, submitting to an authority does not involve agreeing with what it does or doing what it commands if/when those commands oppose what God has taught. Submission doesn’t remove responsibility to make decisions. “I was just following orders” doesn’t work. Peter asked the Sanhedrin whether it was right in God’s eyes for Peter and John to obey God or to obey the Sanhedrin. Remember that the Sanhedrin claimed to be good Jewish people (not as much as the Pharisees, but enough), and therefore, they at least gave lip service to serving God. It wouldn’t have been a good thing for them to officially say, “Ignore God, do what we say.”

            Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are great examples of submission and “revolt.” Jesus and the disciples are as well. Their goal was never to take control but always to do what God commands. In other words, our goal should always be submission, but submission to the highest authority, with submission to lower authorities only as submission to the highest permits. 

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