We have a complicated relationship with authority.               

If you don’t think that you have a problem regarding authority, rules and responsibility, that’s okay…              

Just read this post so you can tell your friend about it…              

The friend who struggles with authority and rules….           

Not you, of course.                 

I’ll tell you something about myself.                 

I really don’t like authority.                

Not because I don’t like order or regulations.                

I love order and well functioning groups of people!                 

I strive to do things right because I know that when you do things as instructed, you save yourself time and frustration.                    

Here is the reason why I don’t like authority…               

Authority holds power and I don’t like how often that I am under someone else’s power.                   

Sometimes, it’s absolutely necessary to have a leader instruct my actions;   
but I find myself in too many situations where others have the power to control what I do or don’t do.                  

I have no problem doing what I’m instructed to do if I believe that the authority figure who is instructing me, has wisdom.                       

Most people would agree with this statement.                 

“I do what my boss says because they have diplomas and awards in their office, but my parents don’t have the wisdom to instruct me.”                    

“I will listen to a policeman because he has a badge, but my teacher doesn’t understand anything that matters in the real world, so why would I listen to her?”                

These are just examples of typical ways that we pick and choose which authority figures that we believe deserve our respect.              

Here is the problem with this mentality…                    

It changes with each person.                 

Authority is supposed to stand, regardless of the level of respect that individuals give towards them.                    

A President is still a President, even if his people don’t respect him as one.                       

If the standard of authority was based on our opinions, we ourselves would be the authority;

wouldn’t we?                   

We would esteem some people, but ultimately it was up to us to determine who deserves respect…

which makes us of highest authority.                     

Ultimately, this becomes a nation with 3 million people in charge.                

All with different opinions and no set standard; just trusting their own understanding of what is right and wrong.                   

This causes a divided nation…             

see our post on division for a deeper understanding of this concept.                   

This is too destructive.               

Everyone can’t be in authority!                 

We need a standard of authority, whether we agree with the rules or not.                   

Everyone can’t just run around doing whatever they think is right!             

There needs to be a clear line between right and wrong.                  

I know, it’s difficult to not be the one making the rules, especially because authority figures are not easy to trust.                     

When it comes to matters that affect me, I believe that only I know what’s right and wrong.                 

However, what I want, doesn’t always benefit others.                

This is why an unwavering authority standard needs to be in place!             

The benefits for everyone need to be considered, not just the benefits of the individual.                 

It’s scary to follow authority.            

Our whole future could be at stake!                    

Surely, God would understand if I use my brain and only listen to the authority that I decide is correct…   Right?              

Let’s see how God feels about this by going straight to scripture!                 

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.”                  

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                         

What if it seems like I will not benefit from following the rules?                

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.”              

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                   

My boss is rude, though!                 
The governor isn’t even a Christian!          
My teacher is just power-hungry!                 
The team leader is selfish!               
My parents are controlling and they don’t understand me.                    

I hear you…                     

More importantly, God hears you and He knows your fears concerning submission.                    

He addressed them in ‭‭I Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭21‬.              

“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:”                

I Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                          

You might be thinking…                 

So, basically, God wants me to be a door mat and if authority is cruel, He wants me to get stomped on.                  

God doesn’t want us to suffer…                    

He is for us and on our side!                     

May I show you proof of this?               

Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                     

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”                        
‭‭    

Free will is why evil still happens in our lives but that doesn’t mean God wants us to be destroyed by it!                  

He wants good for us!                        

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”                 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.           

How does Jesus put it?                 

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.””               

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.             

Jesus reminds us that any trouble that we face here, has not overcome us.                  

It may feel like the world can destroy our future and steal everything good from us…           
but

Jesus says that we have nothing to worry about!               

He told us that He already overcame the world, so there is nothing it can do to destroy us.                      

We can actually be of good cheer when authority figures are messing up.                    

Jesus said so!                         

Why should this give us confidence?                  

I’ll tell you why!                                       

“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.””             

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭49‬-‭50‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.               

Jesus wasn’t even speaking about His own authority.                      

He was showing us what it looked like to believe Romans 8:31…            

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”                      
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                  

He showed us Who the real authority is!                      

We don’t need to worry about what authority figures of this world will do to us, because God is the Ultimate Authority!                      

The King of kings!                

The LORD of lords!               

The Authority of authorities!                

If He is for us, what can others really do to us?                

Jesus didn’t just encourage us to trust God as our ultimate Authority,           
He lived it!                     

Here are three perspectives of the same situation that happened right before Jesus was crucified.                       

“Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.” And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.”               

‭‭Mark‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                

 

“And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!””                   

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭62‬-‭63‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                 

“Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.”                     

‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                  

Jesus didn’t defend Himself or argue.             

He was innocent, yet He didn’t correct them!               

Jesus didn’t need to prove anything to the religious leaders or Roman authority and He wasn’t afraid of what they would do to Him.                         

Jesus knew that they were not the determiners of His purpose.                  

He knew that they were not taking His life….       
He was laying it down.                    

This was such an important part of history because, when Jesus remained silent while facing false accusations, He was actually fulfilling Messianic prophecy!                   

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.”                  

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                  

Jesus had the confidence to remain silent while authority accused and abused Him because He knew that they were not the ultimate authority!                 

He knew that all authority is permitted by God for a specific purpose, so He didn’t fight them.                     

He didn’t beg the rulers for His life nor express despair in order to gain their sympathy.                      

Who did He do that to?                    

Jesus expressed deep despair and pleaded with the One that He knew had all the power…          

“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”              

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭41‬-‭44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.               

He didn’t feel the need to cry out to the religious leaders or to the Roman Prefect, because He knew that they were still subject to God’s authority.               

Jesus chose to go straight to the top!             

Though He actually could prove Himself innocent and He could show His authority over them…              

He submitted to their authority because,                

even though they didn’t know it,                  

Everything that they did to Jesus, was only allowed because the Ultimate Authority permitted it!                       

You never need to question if an authority figure is doing God’s will…                   

God appointed every single authority figure for a reason.                     

It’s your job now,    

to  do as your Ultimate Authority has instructed…              

 

Be subject to authority,      

honor everyone,          

love each other     

and most importantly…                  
Trust the LORD, above all else and know that He is GOD of ALL creation!                    

This will bring you confidence and joy while facing authority, because you will always know that

there is no authority above God’s authority!                   

Remember…                

If God is for you,       
who can be against you?                        

He is the same God who spoke this promise in Exodus‬ ‭23!                    

““Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.””               

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭23‬:‭20‬-‭33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.             

The same God walks with you!               

He asks you to honor earthly authority and even love your enemies…               

However,

He doesn’t let anyone take the power from Him.               

He is our defender!                 

The adversary to our adversaries!              

If our governing authorities are using their power to harm us, God takes it seriously and not only will He defend us, but He will not let the suffering that we endured be meaningless!                      

He will bring good from it!                     

God wouldn’t tell us to submit to authority and put our weapons down if He wasn’t planning to protect us!               

“In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.”                    
‭‭

Isaiah‬ ‭54‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.              

God says that indeed people will assemble against His servants, but anyone who would come to destroy His people, will not prosper.                     

This is a perfect example of our God’s heart when it comes to authority…