Today in our discussion of leadership we discussed the topic of questioning authority. You have probably seen this phrase on a bumper sticker or something. Some people use it as an excuse (or motto) to deny all authority. While most of us would not agree with this extreme position, I think the mentality creeps into our lives without us realizing it.
We, as Americans, are very individualistic and think we have a right to always have a say over our lives. We are democratic after all. "...by the people and for the people..." If the president does something we disagree with we have no qualms about criticizing him saying how it should be done. We believe we have the right to speak up, after all we voted and he is only representing us - a first among equals (low power distance culture). In our culture we expect this, but does that mean it is right for us Christians? Shouldn't we evaluate this value in light of God's word?
As we were discussing this in class I began to think through the Bible to see if I could come up with examples of questioning authority. None came to mind. Some people offered examples such as Daniel in the lions den, however, I make a difference between moral issues and non moral issues. Clearly we should not follow authorities that would have us disobey God! Other than moral issues, do we have any examples of questioning authority? Hmmmm.
What does the Bible teach us about authority? Clearly we are to respect authority (1 Peter 2:13-17 to name one) and we have Christ as our ultimate authority (Colossians 1:15-20). We are called to confront believers if they sin (Matthew 18:15) but how does that relate? What about a non sin issue? Do you believe that God has placed your leaders in this position of authority? How does that influence your behavior?
What about you? Can you think of example from the Bible? What are your thoughts?
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1 comment:
I appreciate your post. It gives some good perspective on our stance towards government in particular.
When I think about the context of Jesus' message about the kingdom of God and how he talked about authority. He said, "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesars."
Now the kingdom of God was a radical idea that flew in the face of the ruling government. In fact sayings like "Jesus is Lord" and the "gospel" are terms that the roman empire used. They would say Caesar is Lord & the gospel was what they would spread to newly conquered territories that Caesar would take care of their needs.
Jesus' promise of the kingdom of God was not to set up a new government. There is no God's nation. Instead God created His kingdom to transcend all nations and authorities. Our allegience is first to it.
But the message of honoring and respecting the government shows that we are not free from the obligations to be where God has placed us. But our stands for morals, our stands for our faith should transcend our country to see that no matter what God allows to happen in the country is how He allows it to play out.
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