The street lights were down at a busy intersection near our house.
Standing in the middle of the street was a lone officer, directing multiple lanes of traffic, including turn lanes with ease. All of the drivers of the cars were quietly waiting their turn to be
signaled to move. Though, he had no weapon drawn,
there was a unified respect for the authority he wielded
by virtue of his uniform and position. I marvel at the fearlessness of
these officers, standing in the middle of potentially dangerous vehicles
driven by people in various states of attention. I've never seen an
incident, only compliance with the given rules under the jurisdiction
of the one in authority.
Authority is the power or right to give
orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. It is also the power to
influence others, especially because of one's commanding manner, or
one's recognized knowledge about something. Giving orders or wielding influence...
Authority is everywhere. I believe it would be wise for us to remind ourselves and our children of this. In God's family, there is mutual submission -
one comes under the authority, influence, vision or plan of another to serve.
(Eph. 5:21) In families, husbands are the heads of wives as Christ is
the head of the church and the Savior of the Body. (Eph. 5:23) Parents
have authority over children. (Col. 3:20) Bosses have authority over
employees, boards have authority over executives. The President's ideas
can be shut down by the legislature. We even yield to our subordinates
in certain situations.
Everywhere we go, we might be wise to look for authority...to whom do I submit in this situation?
Even Jesus was under His Father, God as His head (1 Cor. 11:13) and
did only those things that pleased the Father. (John 5:30)
It seems nowadays that we are so busy questioning, resisting and
rebelling against authority that we have lost the capacity to be under
it. However, Paul makes it clear in Romans 13:1-7, that authorities have been established by God, and
there is no authority except what God has established.
The one in authority is like a two headed coin: God's servant to do you
good, and submission brings freedom from fear; or God's agent to bring
punishment to the wrongdoer. We are told to submit to authorities for
conscience sake. If one is due respect and honor, give it to them.
What if they're not respectable? David respected king Saul, even when he was not respectable, even abusive and would flee from him rather than harm him. (1 Sam 24:6) God protected and rewarded David.
I
wonder whether our growing disrespect for authorities is reflective of,
or reveals our struggle with ascribing to JESUS the LORDSHIP over our
lives?
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