Respecting Authority

Respecting authority is a difficult issue for children, teenagers, and adults.  As a youngster I believed that only myself and my fellow youngsters had a hard time respecting authority.  When one is 12 years old adults seem to have it together.  I am now wise enough to know this is not the case.  I have now been privileged to hear grumbling among co-workers about bosses.  I am also now accustomed to the great deal of grumbling about government officials that permeates news and general conversation.  I do believe some grumbling is fruitful, if done in a considerate way, and if the subject of grumbling is not petty.  However, it is clear that people do not suddenly become good at respecting authority at age 18.

All of this grumbling about authority must take a toll on people.  Work must be miserable if you hate your boss.  I wonder if people remember that government officials are also human beings?  It can't be a whole lot of fun living in a country where one hates the government. 

Regardless of whether it makes one miserable or not, disrespecting authorities is flat out wrong.  The fifth commandment of the Ten, the first one with a promise, and the first one to deal with human to human relationships says, "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12)  Paul reaffirms this commandment in the Book of Ephesians.

The apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2:13-17 and the apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-7 both write of how Christians should respect earthly authority.  It should be noted that these men wrote when it was much harder to look on authorities with love and respect.  These Christians were not tempted to disrespect authorities because they felt passed over for a promotion or because they had differing views about health care; these Christians were being tempted to disrespect authority because they were being fed to dogs, beheaded, and used as street lamps.  

To be clear, there are times when we should disobey authority.  But these times are very isolated.  The only time that human authority should be violated is if this authority is preventing one from 1) worshiping or 2) obeying God.  The prophet Daniel provides us with a clear example when he refuses to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar.  Likewise, Peter and John provide an example shortly after Jesus' ascension into heaven when they refuse to stop teaching about Jesus--doing so would have been disobeying the One that told them to go and spread the good news.  If the U.S. government asked me to bow down to a statue of Abraham Lincoln, I would not do so.  If the U.S. government told me I had to kill all children with blonde hair because they were inferior, I would not do so.  If my boss told me that I must lie on a report, I would not do so.  But if the command from my authority does not keep me from worshiping God or obeying His commands, I must do so.

The fact of the matter is, we will always be under authority.  God will always be your authority whether you like it or not.  Paul writes in Romans 1 about humanity's struggles stemming from a resistance to recognize, give honor, and thanks to God.  One's resistance of God does not make God less real or less of an authority figure.  In this life, we can either choose to recognize God's authority now or later.  Respecting His authority leads to a life of fruitfulness, disrespecting His authority leads to a life misery and anxiety.

Not only will we always be under heavenly authority, but we will always be under earthly authority.  I suppose someone could go live on an island by themselves somewhere and flee all human contact, but that island is still going to be under the authority of some government.  Possibly rising to the top of one's company or starting one's own is the answer.  However, the top dog has more bosses (customers, shareholders, etc.) than the middle manager.  My work as a construction worker required me simply to show up, work hard, and answer to my boss.  My boss' work required attracting customers, pleasing customers, filing taxes, following building code, and keeping a good reputation in the community.  His authorities were not right beside him, but they were present nonetheless.

The truth is, we never fully escape authority, which is okay.  God created us to be under authority.  We should not seek to subvert authority, but rather love and respect those in authority.  It begins by respecting and loving God, and then flows over into respect and love for every fellow man.  Jesus did not use His nature as God to subvert authority, but rather bowed to the earthly authority, and in doing so brought salvation to man.  Although we may have the power to disrespect authority, God calls for an attitude of meekness, love, and respect.  A life of fruitfulness will follow, while a life of chaos will follow he that is too proud.

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