Is Old School Bible Relevant? "Authority Part 1"

God and I had a serious talk before I writing this blog.  I reminded Him of what our topic was, and I inquired about which direction to go.  The thought of “Authority” came to mind.  I smiled, just for a moment, then I prayed …

“Lord, this is a big area.  People are angry with authorities today, our local leaders, politicians, and law enforcement have not operated in a godly manner in YEARS!  Expecting people to believe that this type of authority is from You, will be hard or may backfire.   This one will be difficult, I know Your word is relevant, but I will need You to really show us all how respecting authority is still relevant today.”  

I believe in that moment God smiled, and this is what He gave me…

ALL AUTHORITY IS OF GOD

The bible says that “All authority is of God”.  If you read Romans 13:1-8 you can find a lot of what God says about authority and the fact that He is the one who instituted it.  Authority can begin in our homes with our parents, in schools with teachers, in our communities with law enforcement and even to the White House.  God’s word has not changed, even though society has.  I am one who believes that the things we see today may shock us, but God is not moved, so whatever He put in His word years ago, He knows it is still relevant today.   As believers, we either trust God, or we don't.  So if He says authority is from Him, I do have questions, but they stem from the stand point of HOW I can honor them, not IF I will. 

THE PROBLEM

When thinking about authority, I automatically see conditions today.  Police brutality, politicians who lie and have been caught in illegal and immoral situations; even pastors and priests that have been found operating outside God’s word.  I understand that it is HARD to blindly say that we should respect ALL authority, but yet that is what God said- He didn't really say just the good guys.   Authority is there to keep structure, to give directions, and set boundaries.  Often the boundaries that are set, are not kept by those who set them. So what happens then?

God has so many things in the word that we should consider.  If you are a ‘sometimes’ believer, it is hard to find the balance of His word because we tend to lean towards the areas we like, or that are easier to keep or understand.  We don’t always take time to study the word so we can hear what God says on both sides, so we only look for results on one side.  The same word that is required of us is required of those in authority.   The problem is that those in authority are only PEOPLE.   Their authority alone does not give them superpowers to behave and act right, it doesn't dispel prejudice, or help them avoid sexual temptations.  They are required by God to put those things- their flesh...  under His word, just like we are.  We know that many of us  don’t, and neither do many of them.  So when God tells us to honor authority, He is really telling us to honor Him- to honor His choice to allow for authority on this earth.

MY RESPONSIBILITY

The first thing to note about authority, is that it is for us.  We are told in Romans to not be afraid of the authority because if we do right, their sword is not meant for us.   How we live should help us deal with authority.  If we live a life of crime, we should see the authorities more often.  If we have a sticker out, we are uncomfortable on the roads because we know they are watching for us.  I know what some of you are thinking, "What about  if I've been profiled?  If I am not doing anything wrong, am I still supposed to acknowledge them?"  The answer is 'yes'.  Even if we are not doing anything wrong, we can control some of the narrative.  But because we have seen and know the problems with law enforcement, we are ready to defend ourselves, fight, film or whatever!  So, when scripture tells us that a ‘soft answer turns away wrath’ we don’t really understand how that would work today.  We have been trained to argue, be defensive and get ready for escalation.  Some  situations we may need to be willing to let them play out without too much of our input of anxiety. It is better to live to fight, than to die with a fight.   I know that is hard to swallow, but so are MOST of the scriptures!    

If we really want to see the relevance of the word today, we have to be able to follow the word today.  Most of our difficulty comes in thinking that it does not make any sense to do things the way God said.  It may look weak, it might look vulnerable, and it often looks plain stupid.  But again the balance... "His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts."  The question is ...Do you trust Him?

SELAH

This is enough to think on for this week.  Join me next week as we delve a bit deeper in  understanding the relevance in the word when we deal with authority figures!  Next week we will talk about how to follow God's word to get rid of them!