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The setting was the Roman Empire. From his prison cell, the Apostle Paul was writing letters to churches and individuals instructing them on the faith—teaching doctrine through words that would be read and parsed down through the generations.
It was a bad time to be a Christian. Not in the grand scheme of things, for Christianity was growing and spreading in a manner that startled world leaders, but in the sense that one could be put to death in the most cruel manners (crucifixion, human torch, fed to lions, etc.).
It was with this backdrop that Paul instructed believers about those that rule over us:
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves [dang]ation. – Romans 13:1-2
The passage goes on to say that all rulers are ordained by God for the purpose of keeping the law, and that we ought to pay taxes to them. Ouch.
Today
As we look at the coming to power of the administration, and as many of us watched President Obama take the oath of office1 on Inauguration day, there were many different responses around the corner of the blogosphere that I read.
Some were indignant, choosing to ignore the Inauguration because of person animosity toward the man or his policies. Some ignored the entire event, choosing to focus on other things going on that day. Some tried to take a position of unity (where possible), looking for things to agree on in his speech, trying to call him “my President”, and looking for the opportunity to hope/pray that he wouldn’t be what he said he was.
The latter are the ones I’m concerned about when it comes to this passage of Scripture.
Respect vs. Agreement
I can show respect to someone I disagree with. It’s shown in the way that I carry myself. It’s shown in the language that I use. It’s shown in how I react when I’m not in the company of that individual.
I can disagree with the policies of an individual. I can believe he’s dead wrong. In a Democratic Republic with the freedom of speech I’m free to say so. I believe that I cross that line when I stop talking about policies and start attacking the person. I also believe I cross the line when I make someone with whom I’m not familiar into the familiar.
That’s why you won’t hear me refer to President Obama as “His High Lord Obama, the Most Merciful” like you hear from Rush Limbaugh. Rush’s making a point about how much President Obama has built himself up, and they way that some are reverencing him, but to mock him in this way also walks across the line I’ve personally set for respecting the man.
However, just like everything in this culture war, I will be pointing out things like FOCA2, etc. I will illustrate why they are wrong and why I believe that they’re not the best for the country.
That’s my civic duty.
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I read a great blog the other day from a pastor’s wife who blogged on this very same issue. She said we are called to pray for our governing authorities but to support them simply because they hold office isn’t right, especially is their positions are contrary to Scripture. It was very well written. I can send you the link if you’d like.
Rachels last blog post..Big News, Big Heartache
That’d be interesting, Rachel, please send it along!
This is the era where you paper over the disagreements and then work together whereever you do agree. Too much at stake to not do that. Rush, I fear, hasn’t yet grasped this shift. He’s still spitting fire every which way.
Ling, this is what people say every election– remember “Compassionate Conservatism” and “No Child Left Behind”? The truth is that there are two different policies and elections don’t mean that you forget your policies and rubber stamp the opponent’s policies. Simply because a majority of the people voted for an individual or a party does not mean that all of the policies of that individual are correct or right. It does mean that that party or person has the right to implement their policies.
Our government was constructed so that we would have opposition in the attempts to make the best decisions, rather than the decisions that one person or one party would make. It’s constructed to do the exact opposite of what you suggest. The reality is that, by working with people with different perspectives, one can hope to construct something that’s better than what any one person can come up with.
On a side note, is it your site that you are linking to? Because your link changes every day and it looks spammy. Obviously you’re not spamming since you’re leaving real comments, but I just thought you should know.
Yeah, I’ve had to think about this a lot too. I can handle Rush’s thoughts (because they’re based on logic) better than I can Joseph Farah’s (which says we are to pray he fails.) Rush is MUCH more entertaining, too.
So…yeah…I really DON’T support Pres. Obama’s policies – but I surely AM praying for Him. (Mostly, that God would call to Him and touch his heart.)
I know that there are some Psalms where David actually prays harm on his enemies, though I’m not sure if this is one of those times that it’s “what really happened” or “it’s ok to do such.” In any case, I pray that Obama sees God’s way and chooses to follow it.