Romans 13:1 "Everyone must subject himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."
Unless you live a hermit's life, with no TV, no radio, and no internet, you have likely heard the accounts of bad governments. Pew Research indicates that 75% of the world lives under severe religious restriction and the United States is no exception. The religious restricion in the Unites States may not be as grave as in other countries but it is still prevalent.
And then we read Paul's letter to the Romans telling us to subject ourselves to the governing authorities. To be sure we understand his point, Paul repeats himself. "The authorities that exist have been established by God."
Our sovereign God is the one who defines right and wrong. The authorities He places in power are His servants and they are there only to enforce the law. Our goal as Christians isn't to reform the societies we live in but to transform them one life at a time with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, yes, God said that we are to subject ourselves to the governing authorities. And what if the authorities are unjust, cruel, immoral, godless or evil? When the government commands us to do something that is disobedient to God's Word, we must resist the government and obey God. (Acts 4:19-20 Peter and John) (Acts 5:29 Peter) (Daniel 3 and Daniel 6) At all other times, we are to submit to those in authority.
God says that we owe authorities respect and honor. So do our conversations at home and work, our Facebook posts, our e-mails and text messages show that we are doing well with showing respect and honor to our governing authorities? How would we compare the amount of time that we spend praying for our leaders in comparison to the amount of time that we spend complaining about them? Remember, we are training up the next generation. Is our example showing them how to respect those in authority?
One rule of thumb to remember. If we can't respect the person in authority, we can at least respect the office that has been given to them by our Almighty God.
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Personal this prayer.
Dear Lord,
Ouch! Conversations all around me are full of dishonor and disrespect for those governing and I have to admit that at times I've gotten caught up in the frenzy. Forgive me. I know that you are the Ruler over all the earth and are in control of every little detail of the universe. You have placed the leaders in authority over us so I ask that You help me to be submissive and leave a godly example for others to follow. You have called me to do good, not to slander so when I think of criticizing would You remind me to stop and pray for them instead. When I find myself in a group of people who begin to belittle and degrade those in authority enable me to be self-controlled and gentle in my speech. I know that I often begrudgingly pay my taxes, Lord, but I ask that You help me to think of it as God's work and give my taxes over cheerfully. Help me to be informed about the upcoming elections and to take part so that I am actively in a position to make a difference. Thank You for the reminder to give honor and respect to those in leadership. I will strive to do so in the future and encourage others to do the same.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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