Honoring our government officials
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4:57 PM |
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This week I read something that I didn't particularly like in 1 Peter chapter 2:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. (1 Peter 2:13-14 ESV)
I don't like what Peter wrote because it contradicts completely my own fleshly nature which would rather fight most of our government leaders rather than submit to them. Submitting to our governmental leaders, and praying for them, as we are instructed to do in 1 Timothy 2, is certainly not an easy thing to do living in a culture where our government leaders often reject the clear teaching of the Word of God and ridicule those of us who hold to the truth of Scripture. So certainly there must be some exceptions to Peter's command here, right? As it turns out, there are, but probably not nearly as many as we would like or that we think.
Do I only have to be subject to and honor those officials with whom I agree? The word "every" in verse 13 seems to preclude that idea. But surely, I only need to honor those officials who are godly and follow Biblical principles, right? Peter seems to answer that objection a few verses later:
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. (1 Peter 2:18 ESV)
Obviously I am not saying that we don't have a right, or even an obligation to confront evil when it is promoted by any government official. But what the Bible teaches consistently is that if and when I do that I must do it respectfully and honorably or else I risk damaging my testimony for Jesus. If people are going to dislike me I want it to be because I am committed to follow Jesus, not because of my political opinions.
In this digital age it is particularly easy to be disrespectful of our governmental officials with whom we disagree. It is so easy to post an unflattering image, or re-post untrue information because we failed to take the time to check that it was factual or to post a meme that attributes words to a person that he or she never uttered or to just call people names. And while I am often tempted to do many of those things because I get so mad at what is going on in our country, I need to remember that God holds me to a higher standard.
I think it's also instructive to note that Jesus never spent much time at all arguing with, protesting or confronting government officials, even though many of His followers wanted Him to be that kind of Messiah. I can't believe that if He were on earth today, Jesus would waste much of His time at all posting disparaging comments about political leaders on Facebook. He'd be far to busy praying for them and doing what He could to meet their needs. Maybe we ought to follow His example.
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. (1 Peter 2:13-14 ESV)
I don't like what Peter wrote because it contradicts completely my own fleshly nature which would rather fight most of our government leaders rather than submit to them. Submitting to our governmental leaders, and praying for them, as we are instructed to do in 1 Timothy 2, is certainly not an easy thing to do living in a culture where our government leaders often reject the clear teaching of the Word of God and ridicule those of us who hold to the truth of Scripture. So certainly there must be some exceptions to Peter's command here, right? As it turns out, there are, but probably not nearly as many as we would like or that we think.
Do I only have to be subject to and honor those officials with whom I agree? The word "every" in verse 13 seems to preclude that idea. But surely, I only need to honor those officials who are godly and follow Biblical principles, right? Peter seems to answer that objection a few verses later:
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. (1 Peter 2:18 ESV)
Obviously I am not saying that we don't have a right, or even an obligation to confront evil when it is promoted by any government official. But what the Bible teaches consistently is that if and when I do that I must do it respectfully and honorably or else I risk damaging my testimony for Jesus. If people are going to dislike me I want it to be because I am committed to follow Jesus, not because of my political opinions.
In this digital age it is particularly easy to be disrespectful of our governmental officials with whom we disagree. It is so easy to post an unflattering image, or re-post untrue information because we failed to take the time to check that it was factual or to post a meme that attributes words to a person that he or she never uttered or to just call people names. And while I am often tempted to do many of those things because I get so mad at what is going on in our country, I need to remember that God holds me to a higher standard.
I think it's also instructive to note that Jesus never spent much time at all arguing with, protesting or confronting government officials, even though many of His followers wanted Him to be that kind of Messiah. I can't believe that if He were on earth today, Jesus would waste much of His time at all posting disparaging comments about political leaders on Facebook. He'd be far to busy praying for them and doing what He could to meet their needs. Maybe we ought to follow His example.
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