Don’t Tell Me What To Do!

I have been studying some uncomfortable words lately:

• submission
• rebellion
• authority
• obedience
• sacrifice
• servant

There was a time that if I saw this list, I would have stopped reading.  And yet, as Christians we need to face them, learn them, live with them.  There are areas in my life where I am happy to live in submission to authority, be obedient, make sacrifices, serve.  But there are still some niches, hidey holes, even open areas where you had better not tell me what to do.  I am glad to say that I feel sorry to admit it.  As Christians, we are all subject to authority.  Does that sound more palatable than saying we must submit to authority?

I would say that most, if not all Christians can agree that we live to serve God.  We submit ourselves willingly to God’s authority, that we try to be obedient to his authority.

We get into choppy waters of agreement when we move into the husband and wife realm of service, submission, and authority.  I’m not going to spend much time on that point.  But I will point out that not only does the Bible state the importance of wives submitting to husbands but also that husbands should love their wives as Christ loves his bride and died for her.  I don’t know about you, but I read this as trying to out love one another.

If a wife, submitting to her husband’s authority, did not agree with her husband, would it be Godly for her to make fun of him to her friends?  Would she be justified in sending email jokes about him to her Christian friends?  Would it be alright if she had a girls day out and talked about how stupid he was to her friends?  I don’t think this would move him to change his mind and what would her friends think about her and her marriage.  First, they would not think she was a very good Christian.

What about submission to political leaders and those in authority in our nation?  But you didn’t vote for them?  There doesn’t seem to be a mandate in scripture about your vote.

Romans 13:1 -

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

and

1 Peter 2:13 – 15

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. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

How do you think we, as the Church, are doing with that “put to silence the ignorance of foolish people,” thing?  God clearly commands that we be under authority, submit ourselves, to our leaders, and yet we have no problem making fun of, degrading, or making all sorts of comments that prove we are NOT under authority.

If a wife spoke that way about her husband, what would we think?  Scripture tells us that God gave them authority.  To me that means we do not have the authority to speak against them.

I Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.

If you want to speak against a political figure, party, or group, you are free to do so (about their stand, not their ethnicity, looks, gender, etc.) during the election. Once they are in office, scripture says God has put his seal on them. If you do not agree with it, talk to God, do not talk against whom God has ordained.

I don’t know what the consequences of disobedience are, but I don’t care because I love God and I desire to do what He desires.