Rulers, Authorities, and Powers

 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13)

 

 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

 

I’ve written about these verses before, often enough that I feel guilty for coming back to them. But they were the verses of the day on my online Bible study platform, and they are good verses. Generally, they are discussed in terms of our dealing with the outside world: the government and other organizations or people that claim authority over us, the antichristian bullies of the world and diabolical entities that rule over them. And there is good reason to consider them at that level. I’ve done so before.

This time, we need to look at these verses from a much more personal perspective. Our struggles within ourselves is not against flesh and blood but against the rules…authorities…powers of our dark world…the spiritual forces of evil in our heavenly realms. We need to put on the full armor of God so that …we may be able to stand our ground against ourselves. Jesus told us we need to remove the plank from our own eyes so we can see to remove the speck from the eyes of others. But the whole point is that the plank in our own eyes blinds us to the plank and the speck.  (I must admit, I find it amusing that so many people judgingly say “don’t judge” without realizing that they’ve got the plank of judgment in their eyes – which may be why everything they see is judgment on the part of others.)

What rulers or rules dominate our lives? What authorities? What powers? I’m not suggesting that we should throw away all restraint. The question is gentler than that. The rules, authorities, and powers may be good, neutral, or bad, but what are they?

When I was growing up, we had lots of rules, many of them unspoken. We didn’t swear, drink, smoke, do drugs, have sex outside of marriage, put holes in walls, skip school, wear hemlines that were too high or necklines that were too low, etc. I still don’t do those things, but I’m getting better at putting holes in walls. There was a time when the rule was that we were to not eat fat. Now, we’re to pick healthy fats, but sugars and carbs are evil. And once upon a time, Monday was when the kitchen was supposed to be cleaned, and you didn’t do much of anything on Sunday.

The question isn’t whether rules are good or bad but whether this particular rule (of your choice) is good or bad. Does the rule come between you and God? Does obeying it give you status before God? The same with authorities and powers. What are they? Is this one good? Is that one bad? And I’m not suggesting  that any of us will do a comprehensive, exhaustive, complete examination of every rule, authority, or power in our lives every day for the rest of our lives. Still, when we encounter one, we will do well to question it.

Let’s look at a secular, trivial example of a rule. In Toastmasters, one is taught to not say um, uh, ah, erm, or any of those meaningless and empty filler noises. I had a teacher in college who used “you know” as his filler sound, and I got so frustrated with it that I started counting. He said “you know” thirty times in 15 minutes, once without anything in between. “You know. You know.” I worked on my fillers and tend to avoid them most of the time, but it came to mind that there were times when those fillers served a purpose. It was no better to never use them in obedience to the rule than it was to use them constantly. The real point was whether or not I am in control of what comes out of my mouth.

So what I’m suggesting here is that when you deal with a rule, an authority, or a power in your life, pay attention to it. Question it. Is it a good rule, authority, or power? Does it get in the way of your relationship with God or other people? Who said you had to or couldn’t think, say, feel, or do whatever? If you “have” to do it despite the rule, why? Is it a good reason? Is it a Biblical reason? Don’t throw it out because it’s a rule, but be willing to work at throwing it out if it’s a bad rule. And if you really want a challenge, ask God to identify your planks.