For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. 1 Peter 2:13-17
Adolph Hitler, the Fuhrer of
Germany in the early/mid 20th century was a passionate man who had
little or no compassion for others. He
knew what he wanted to accomplish, and his actions proved his methods built a
life and legacy without honor; the man was a monster.
It matters WHAT you accomplish with your life, but,
frankly, it is just as important, and perhaps, more important, HOW you do it. All the good (supposedly) intentions in the
world are useless unless they are met with actions which honor the good you intend
to do.
It is said that an honorable life is
where integrity for doing right meets living.
Peter expressed this in six memorable words: Fear God, and respect the king.
Of course the word “fear” means to honor, or revere, in the sense that
we keep in mind God is sovereign, holy, and almighty; we fear (or honor) God, by not neglecting
God’s way in our own actions. In so
doing we put to silence foolish accusations.
There have been plenty of movements
in recent years that are honorably conceived, such as Black Lives Matter, #MeToo,
and others of social-justice, that have plenty of strong basis in
Scripture. Accomplishing racial, gender,
and economic parity in the realms of freedom and human dignity are goals worthy
of Godly standard. But, as stated
previously, HOW these are achieved are also
vitally central to the results. When a
protest against some ungodly oppression, or practice of one group toward
another turns ugly, there is little honor for our God.
It is one thing to protest
violence, but when your protest is conveyed by violent means, it isn’t fighting fire with
fire; it’s adding more unholy fuel to a raging downward spiral of hatred, fear,
and unleashed evil.
The apostle Peter had a moment like
that in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas
led the Roman Guard to arrest Jesus, betryaing the son of God with a kiss on
the cheek. Peter protested by swinging
his sword and cutting off the ear of Malchus, servant of the High Priest[2].
Peter’s intention to prevent the crucifixion of Jesus was righteous; his
actions were not. Had Jesus not stopped
the hostilities by healing Malchus’ injury, there might have been a dozen
crucifixions that day. Added violence
never solves anything; it certainly can neve be called “honorable” in anyone’s
life.
For You Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
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