Thoughts on Romans - Day 37

                                       Romans 13:1-7
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ 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 you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.


          2016 is our election year in America. We, throughout the year, will be under the authority of a president who claimed to be a Christian in 2008 when he was trying to get elected...

You've talked about your experience walking down the aisle at Trinity United Church of Christ, and kneeling beneath the cross, having your sins redeemed, and submitting to God's will. Would you describe that as a conversion? Do you consider yourself born again?

I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out in church' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals.( 2008 Christianity Today )

 

... yet throughout his tenure has shown few signs of standing on the side of or with Bible believing Christians. One of the most obvious examples was in the case of Hobby Lobby, a large company with stores throughout the US owned and founded by Bible believing Christians. They are self insured - they offer their own health insurance to all their employees. I have often thought that if I would have put the $70k I pay for my office's employee's health insurance into a fund, 30 years later there would be $2.1 million in there to pay off claims and I wouldn't have wasted all that money. That is what Hobby Lobby does. Unlike most companies who try to avoid paying insurance, a Christian company should lead the way in benefits to their employees and they were. The problem arose when Obama mandated that all prescription plans needed to offer birth control. Now Christians believe what the Bible says that sex and procreation are reserved for marriage. The problem was giving birth control to unmarried employees. Hobby Lobby decided (and I am speaking for them so this is speculative but I know I am faced with this dilemma daily in my office) we can't tell non-Christians how to act. Birth control has multiple other medical benefits so we will pay for this and people are responsible for their own behavior. That should have satisfied the government, right? No. Obama also insisted that they offer birth control that would be post conception; in other words if we believe life begins at conception as the Bible teaches, there are some contraceptives that are abortifacents. They have no other function than that. Hobby Lobby decided that they couldn't supply medicine that would destroy life and they refused. Obama fined them, I think $50k a day for every day they refused until the court decided by the narrowest of margins to reverse Obama's decision. BTW with the death of a conservative judge and replacement of a liberal judge which Obama is bound and determined to do before he gets out, this case would have been lost. Do these behaviors by our president sound like a Christian or someone who is even sensitive to what people who live by the Bible deem as matters of conscience? Absolutely not. Yet what we have coming down the pike is probably similar to worse.

 

        So how do Paul's writings in Romans 13 make sense? He says we shouldn't rebel against these authorities because we will bring judgment on ourselves. He says rulers hold no terror for those who do right only for those who do wrong. Do what is right and you will be commended. The one in authority is put there by God for your good. Submit to authorities.

 

         Wait a second - Daniel wasn't commended for doing what was right, he was thrown into a den of lions. Nebuchudnezzer threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo into a fiery furnace for their good? Jesus didn't do wrong yet he was subjected to the terror of the cross by the Roman government. And in my modern day illustration Hobby Lobby did what was right and the government stood against them. What are we to make of Paul's writings?

       Here is how I make sense of it. First of all, if there was no government we would have chaos. Generalized evil would not be restrained. Picture every post - apocolyptic movie/TV show you have ever seen - Book of Eli, Walking Dead, Waterworld, The Postman, Mad Max, etc. Taxes are a good thing, too, to pay for all the public services we need to survive. Government, no matter how evil is probably better than no government at all because of the evil in the hearts of every man. Secondly, in my modern day example, in the long run the government did rule for the good of Hobby Lobby. The result - as seen in Romans 8:28, God is more interested in our growth than our comfort. I am sure the owners rejoiced, gave praise to the Lord, their faith was strengthened and they all grew a deeper relationship with God through this trial. What Obama meant for evil, God meant for good. Thirdly, I am drawn to these 2 passages:

Jesus said,"do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell." Luke 12:4,5
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1Pet. 2:23

There is no terror to us when we do what is right because we know God is in control and we are on His side. What can men do to us - kill us, imprison us, send us to the cross, feed us to lions, throw us in a fiery furnace? The government should not cause us terror because the worst they could do is send us to eternal glory with God in Heaven. Lastly, when we do what is right in God's eyes and it goes against what the government says, we aren't rebelling against the government technically because we submit to whatever reprecussions that the government is going to dish out due to this behavior.

Lord, thank you for our government. Help them to stand up for Biblical principles, but if not, help me to boldly stand up for You and not be afraid of whatever comes my way. Amen