Respect for
authority is at an all-time low. Politicians, police, and leaders in general do
not garner the same respect as they once did in years past. Part of the problem
is that so many in authority have abused their positions and exploited those
whom they should be serving with their position of leadership. However, this
does not excuse the general distain for those in in authority who are really
trying to use their positions of leadership to serve and aid others.
The disdain
for submitting to authority is very vividly seen on the A&E show called
Live PD. The show follows live police encounters
and there are cameras recording their every move. The police personal have total accountability
due to the consistent camera presence. This
show reiterates that there is still a growing segment of the population who
totally disrespect police and will not submit to their authority. Some folks, when confronted about an issue the
police are investigating, refuse to even give them their name when asked.
Part of the
problem is the idea of submission to authority is often seen as a bad thing, only for the weak. However, even Jesus elected to submit to the authority
of his parents. Tim Challies has a great article on how Jesus went through
every stage of life in order to model submission for all humanity in every stage
of life. Challies writes:
To complete his mission, the Son of God had to live a
complete life as a man. He had to be a baby, he had to be a toddler, he had to
be a child, a tween, a teen, a young adult, and a grown man. He had to face and
endure the temptations that come with every one of life’s stages. He had to be
tempted as a toddler to defy his parents, as a teen to retaliate against sinful
brothers and sisters, as an adult to be quick-tempered and sharp-tongued. He
was tempted in every way we are, yet he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15)… Jesus spent his childhood, his teens,
and his 20s in submission to his parents. Never once did he sinfully defy them.
Never once did he rebel against their authority. Never once did he talk back in
spite. To the contrary, he only ever joyfully and voluntarily submitted to
them. He willingly put himself under their leadership, under their direction,
and under their authority.[1]
Wow, the
Creator of all submitted to His own creations! I am so thankful for the
blessing of following and serving Christ, who loves us so much, that he actually
stooped to love us!
Biblical submission
is blessing and not a curse. Everyone has to submit to someone in the course of
their life. However, we are not required to submit when those in authority are
asking us to do that which will dishonor God. For example in the Book of Daniel,
King Nebuchadnezzar made a royal decree that all who heard his music must fall
down and worship the golden image of his god. But Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego refused to obey the law (3:16–18). So they were thrown into the fiery
furnace, and God miraculously saved them and thus put his stamp of approval on
their civil disobedience.
S. Lewis
Johnson Jr. defined submission as “Voluntary yielding in love.” Submitting to
the Lordship of Christ is, in essence, stating that you trust him to have
your best interest at heart, even when it costs you and doesn’t make sense. It takes great love and faith to submit to God. As the writer of Hebrews so succinctly says, “…without faith it is
impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV). And without faith, it is impossible to submit to God as well.
