OBEY THE AUTHORITIES

TEXT: 1 Timothy 2:1-2

One rampant thing in the society today is disregard for constituted authorities and this unhealthy phenomenon has gradually crept into the body of Christ. God identifies with spiritual as well as with secular authorities (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Romans 13:1), and He instructs us to obey them that have rule over us (Hebrews 13:7).  

In the secular community people break laid-down rules and engage constituted authorities in fights even when they (the former) are wrong. They are disobedient to employers and bosses and yet they say they are Christians. For example, if the government declares a “no movement” situation for reasons ranging from security to sanitation; it would be disobedience and foolishness for someone to carry his Bible and claim to be headed for the church simply because according to him ‘God comes first’. This is not wisdom neither is it spirituality but disobedience.

There are people who claim to be reading the Bible during official hours and use that as an excuse for failure to be at duty post. This is not spirituality. And if such a person is penalized, it is not persecution.

In the church, many brethren have become rebellious probably because they feel they know better than their leaders/pastors. They confront church authorities without respect and jeopardize God’s work in the name of standing for God. They disobey church rules and ignore spiritual authority. In all these, they pride themselves as “on-fire and holy” brethren, but they are not afraid to speak against God’s servants and withstand God’s work. They insist they have “spiritual” authority to rebuke the pastor or elders, whereas God says: “Rebuke not an elder” (1 Timothy 5:1).

Now, is it in every situation that a person must blindly follow rules? No. the principle is, ‘your loyalty is first to God’, and where it is not compromised, you are under obligated to obey and submit to leadership. More so, you should take any loophole you see as a prayer point instead of living in disobedience and gossip.

Jesus yielded to human authority and paid tribute/custom (Matthew 17:24-27). If you belong to Christ, you will not go for forged/altered NEPA/PHCN bills; you won’t liaise with government officials to help you cheat/defraud the government by escaping your due payment. These things have eternal consequences. It is time to get it right. God bless you.