What is authority anyway? A Google search says this:
The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience
Here are some questions that I hear from Christians AND non-Christians that I think are interesting to consider under the umbrella of looking at Biblical "authority".
- How is it that God has "authority" over us even if I don't believe in Him? Like in the pledge where it says "One nation under God".
- If so many conservative Christians think Obama or other liberals are so bad then why would God allow them to be in office?
- Who decides who actually has the authority? What if there are different opinions about who's in charge?
If we look at history, fear is the primary tool that oppressors use to gain authority. We see it in the Bible from the Pharaoh and the Hebrews in slavery.
S - Let's take a look at Exodus 1:6-17
6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. 7 But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.
8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”
11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. 12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.
O - the midwives obviously did not see the Pharaoh as having authority over their choices. They looked to God and made choices based on God's word, not a human ruler. It says they "feared" God but I don't think this necessarily means they were "afraid" of Him. I think this is a different kind of fear than what we experience by the hand of an enemy. Perhaps they had fear in the sense that they knew God could, if He wanted to, wipe them off the planet. But I think it's much more than that. It's not like the motivation for their actions was just because they thought God would punish them...their motivation wasn't a reaction to fear. I believe it is a fear that comes from respect and honor. Their obedience comes from a place of complete devotion and submission. They shared in the vision that God had a bigger plan and would do ANYTHING for His people. They embraced the commitment to God's purposes and believed He would take care of them, even if that meant temporary suffering by the hands of a human ruler. They trusted that God would protect them, or at least they understood their higher calling, even if their disobedience to the king meant punishment or death. Their purpose was to choose to follow God as the authority in their life. You also find MANY stories of the Hebrew people being oppressed by human rulers and their story is one of continually looking to God as the authority over their life (Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, etc.). Did they also lose faith at times? Yes, at times they waited decades and even centuries for God to act against their oppressors and wondered WHEN would God come and "fix" their situation and make it better. God has proven time and time again that He is faithful and that He can be trusted with our devotion.
A - We are called to respect and honor human authority today however, our ultimate authority is to follow God's word and to submit to His will. Fear may be a tool used by oppressors throughout history but it is NOT a tool of God to get us to "behave". Instead, we are called to trust His plan and bigger purposes, even in earthly oppression (Jer. 29:11; Psalm 71:20-21). Our momentary troubles and how we react to them are achieving eternal glory (2 Cor. 4:16-18). Many of my friends, and the polls show that many are unhappy about who is in authority in our government and the decisions that are being made. I think we are all entitled to our opinion when things are not going the way they should. I don't think we should stand idly by and allow "whatever happens" to happen. We should speak up! We do need to be vocal in defense of God's commands. However, we are called to be ONE nation under God's authority. And God's word is very clear that we should not quarrel and fight...that we should ask God (James 4:2-3). I think in many ways we are reaping what we have sown as a nation because we have relied on ourselves, we have been greedy, and we have forgotten who is REALLY in authority. It is time for us to turn away from selfish ambition and trust in the Lord, if we are to "fix" any of our problems. We can debate as a people all day about how to solve healthcare, unemployment, homeland security, equality for ALL people, and more heated issues, but the bottom line is we are slaves to our pride and desires and we do not ASK God to provide what we need as a nation. (2 Peter 2:17-19; 2 Cor. 3:5; James 4:2-3). If we are truly, on this Veterans Day, are to reflect on the sacrifice that has been made by American men and women for our freedoms, then we MUST not let it be in vain by forgetting where our "freedom" comes from. We are ONE nation UNDER God's authority. Let us never forget.
P - My prayer today Lord is for those men and women that HAVE sacrificed their time, their talents, their service, and their lives for our freedoms. I pray that we honor and remember them this week but also that we would not let their sacrifice be in vain by remembering that really we can do NOTHING without you. I ask on behalf of all American people, even those that don't recognize you as THE authority over our nation, that we would submit to your will and your love. You love us faithfully and provide generously and we get greedy and prideful. Forgive us our sin Lord for we do not always know what we do. Thank you for your son Jesus who has wiped the slate clean and may we always give you the glory for our salvation. May we remember who we belong to and who we "work" for. Give us the courage to be bold in our faith and follow hard after you Lord, keeping in mind to focus on the UNITY that you desire for us. It is in Jesus name that I pray!
