Submission
To Authority: Pro And Con
by
Rev. Paul J. Bern
Here
in the early 21st
century, we live in a world where authority has gotten completely out
of control. America was lied to back in the early 1960's so our
government could start the Viet Nam war. We were lied to about
President Kennedy's assassination by the Warren Commission, and we
were lied to again five years later concerning the Robert Kennedy
assassination. We were lied to about Rev. Dr. King's assassination
that same violent year of 1968. President Nixon lied to us about
Watergate. We were lied to in 2003 as a pretext for invading Iraq the
second time. And we were lied to by president Obama when he won the
2008 election while telling us all that he would bring us “change
we can believe in”. We got some serious changes all right,
resulting in the largest spy and unmanned drone network the world had
ever seen. On the home front, the police have become thoroughly
militarized, and they are having lots of fun on the job thanks to all
their new toys and gadgets, not to mention fully automatic weapons,
and even tanks! They can stop you and search you without cause and
without the Constitutionally mandated search warrant. They are
breaking our doors down in the middle of the night and murdering
unarmed citizens. A 92-year-old woman was shot 19 times and killed by
the police several years ago right here in Atlanta where I live and
work, and people of color as well as the poor are being killed by the
police on the flimsiest of pretexts. Last year when I tried to renew
my drivers license, I was turned away due to a speeding ticket I got
back in 1995 even though I paid the fine nearly two decades ago. So
now I no longer own a car, but I'm saving a lot of money by relying
on public transportation and “going green”. Still, the state of
Georgia's refusal to renew my drivers license makes me feel resentful
and disenfranchised by the very system that is sworn to protect me
and to serve us all.
Speaking
as a minister of the Gospel and as an ambassador for Jesus Christ, I
have done a little research as to what the Bible says about
governmental authority and the abuse of power. It turns out that
there is ample argument that can be minted for both sides of this
same coin. The first part has to do with submission to authority in
the context of being a law-abiding citizen as the apostle Paul saw it
when he wrote the Book of Romans approximately 1,950 years ago. At
the time that this was written, all of what is now modern-day Israel
was under the military occupation of the Roman empire. Similarly,
much of the world today is occupied by the American Empire. Paul
wrote these words in that context, so I will begin with the book of
Romans, chapter 13 and verses 1-5.
“Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except that which God has established. The authorities that
exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels
against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,
and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers
hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do
you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what
is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you
good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword
for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring
punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to
the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also
because of conscience.” (Romans 13: 1-5 NIV)
At
the time that Paul wrote this, the death penalty was commonplace.
Capital punishment existed as a means of intimidation and absolute
control, and that punishment was carried out with utter ruthlessness
and without mercy. Furthermore, unlike the Jewish religious
establishment of that era, Paul was a Roman citizen and as such he
was given rights and privileges that were not shared equally with
other non-citizens. But how does this compare with life in the early
21st
century? Although the death penalty is still administered for capital
crimes such as murder, it is carried out with relative infrequency
compared to the days of the Roman empire. There were also debtors
prisons in Paul's day. People who ran into financial trouble back in
those days were routinely imprisoned until their debts were paid. In
contrast, today if one gets into financial difficulty, bankruptcy
laws exist that are much more fair and equitable than prison.
Compared to the times in which St. Paul lived, we get a complete
picture of a much more fair, equitable and even lenient world in the
present day. Let me now make some comparisons between Paul's world
and ours using this passage of scripture as a backdrop to the picture
that I will now paint for you with my words.
“The
authorities that exist have been established by God”.
Although Paul sincerely believed at the time that he wrote these
words that he was absolutely correct, he was speaking more as a Roman
citizen and a Hebrew religious scholar than he was as a minister of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. In modern America, our rule of law is the
Constitution of the United States and so I am writing today in this
context as an American citizen. We have the right to free speech and
freedom of religion today that did not exist in St. Paul's time. That
right which is established under the first amendment to the US
Constitution allows me to write these words without fear of
punishment. As such I am within the law and I will remain so for as
long as the law is fair. It's when it's unfair that things can get a
bit dicey. But hold that thought as I continue.
The
apostle Paul continues with this same theme as he writes further:
“Consequently,
he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has
instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who
do wrong.” The
same applies today. Take the patriot movement and so-called
“preppers” of today. Organizing any armed revolt in modern-day
America is an idea that I am against, preaching and teaching as a man
of peace who tries his best to emulate Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Besides, the police have well-armed SWAT teams, and there is always
the National Guard that exists within any given state, and so I think
one would be foolhardy to try and take on authority in this manner.
On the other hand, it is perfectly legal, and I would also say that
it is even necessary, to engage in peaceful protests against laws and
policies that we disagree with, particularly when they are unjust.
The US Supreme Court's decision that money equals free speech is one
good example. The counterproductive and sometimes downright stupid
War on Drugs is another one. The first amendment gives us this right,
something that did not exist during Paul's time all those centuries
ago. In this regard, we can interpret this passage of scripture a
little differently than what Paul wrote back then.
Paul
then continues making his point, and so will I. “Do
you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what
is right and he will commend you.” It
is sad to say that this is not always true in the modern world.
Trying as I do to do what is right, I often find myself looked down
on by the many godless people who live in the world of today. I put
up with the occasional ridicule because I am openly Christian, but I
do so knowing that God is watching everything I do and He is
listening to everything I say. But to get back to the topic at hand,
it is wise to be “free from fear of the one in authority”. The
best way to follow this principle is to obey the commandments and the
teachings of Jesus Christ. Just by doing this, we can keep ourselves
out of much trouble. Besides, the Bible says in the Old Testament to
“obey the laws of the land, that it may go well with you in the
place you are abiding”. Those words were written at least three
thousand years ago, and they are still just as true today as they
were back then.
By the same token, there are things happening and
situations unfolding within the US government that are completely
contrary to God's laws. Take the ten commandments as an example. The
eighth commandment says, “You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor”, which can be expanded to include this simple
command: you shall not lie and gossip about people you dislike. Yet
America found itself embroiled in a war in Iraq that was based on a
lie. Specifically, that there were weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq when Saddam Hussein was still in power. Of course, those WMD's
turned out to be non-existent, and it took 4,400 US fatalities –
and over 100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths, one third of which were
children – to find that out. The same applies to Afghanistan. Our
troops have been there for 13 years, first to find Osama Bin Laden
even though everybody in Southern Asia and the Middle East knew he
was in Pakistan. Now that he is deceased, and has been for a couple
of years now, are our troops all back home yet? Absolutely not,
effectively making Afghanistan a de facto US territory with an open
ended US military presence. The US government has been spending $6
billion dollars a week on this occupation, a thoroughly obscene sum
of money by any standard. Yet all the while, there is unemployment
here in the USA that is officially around 7.5%, but that doesn't
count all the millions of long-term unemployed who have stopped
looking for work, as well as those who are working part-time when
full-time work is what is needed. If these facts were figured into
this equation, the true unemployment rate is hovering at around 21
percent. There is no money to create over a million badly needed jobs
in our country, but there is an unlimited supply of cash for multiple
illegal military occupations and drone strikes all around the globe.
This is a moral outrage, and anybody with even a little bit of a
conscience should be out in the streets protesting against the US
military-industrial complex. That may not be in the words of the
Bible, but it most certainly is in the Spirit thereof.
Paul
then writes in verse 5, “Therefore,
it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of
possible punishment but also because of conscience.” This
is just as true today as it was when it was first written. Being an
outlaw will only get us into trouble, and jail is no place for
anybody to be except for the worst criminals. For example, it is a
bad idea to drive your car at 90 miles an hour because it is against
the law, and because it is dangerous. By the same token, the ten
commandments must be obeyed, and let's be sure to include the
teachings of Christ while we're at it. We should not steal, lie or
commit adultery, nor should we have any false gods in our lives. We
are commanded to “love the Lord your God with all your strength,
all your mind, all your soul and all your spirit”, and to “love
our neighbor as we love ourselves”. We can and should worship the
one true God and Him alone, who sent His only Son to die for our sins
and then to rise from the dead on the third day after He was
crucified. In the same way that we submit ourselves to God, we
should, as far as it is possible, submit to authority here on earth.
And we should do so not only “because of possible punishment but
also because of conscience”. But here in the 21st
century, we can and should oppose and protest against the government
similarly because of matters of conscience. It is part of the laws of
our land, and we should exercise this right because our rule of law
says we can. This is also in keeping with God's commands, and I hope
and pray that it always remains so.
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