Attitude to authority
by Pastor Joshua Pfeiffer
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‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God’ (Romans 13:1).
Sometimes Christians who claim to surrender to Christ as the Lord of their life are at the same time quite dismissive and even rebellious in their attitude toward other authorities, such as parents, bosses, teachers, or governments. Sadly, I know this from my own life (Psalm 25:7)! We learn from the Scriptures, however, that our attitude to authority is a spiritual issue. Luther picks up on this in his explanation to the fourth commandment, where we are called to honour our father and mother. He says, ‘we should fear and love God so that we should not despise or anger our parents and other authorities’. Notice the connection between our life before God and our life before others whom God sets over us.
In our text, St Paul focuses on our attitude toward the governing authorities wherever we live. He says that when we consider how we act toward those in our governments, we do well to remember that all true authority finds its source in God and that the government, and those in authority, have been instituted by God for our good. We are to be subject to them as a fundamental attitude, and this means specific things, too, like paying our taxes. There are, of course, limits to this. For example, if we are asked by the government to engage in something that is an offense to God (Acts 5:29). But it’s quite likely St Paul was writing to Christians who lived under governments far less friendly to them than most of us do.
God is rich in his goodness toward this world. Are we able to recognise that even our governing authorities are, in fact, a gift from God? Through them, he has provided a well-ordered society and protection for the weak and vulnerable. No government will ever do this flawlessly, of course. Still, we owe them our honour as those who exercise authority in this world on God’s behalf.
Heavenly Father, thank you for our government. Please give wisdom to our leaders as they navigate the many complex issues facing our community. Lead us by your Spirit to subject ourselves to them and honour them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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