Most couples, after their first few years of marriage and before kids get dogs.
We, however, got chickens. Our 5 chickens, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, and Phoebe, are the joy of our lives. Our breakfasts have never been better and we have even gotten to know our neighbors through sharing farm fresh eggs. It’s a win for everyone. Everyone, that is, except the city of Littleton which only permits its citizens to have 4 chickens. And as I already shared…we have 5.
For those of you who excelled in elementary math, that leaves us with one too many hens. And we know it. Yet, it didn’t matter how stupid we thought the Littleton chicken population laws were, and it didn’t matter that we honestly thought we would lose a chicken or two and end up with four. Jake and I knew what was expected of us— as conscientious, neighborly, good-natured citizens—and we disregarded the system and the council, because to us, their rule was dumb.
We all have stories like this.
How many of us go 10 over on the highway and quickly press the brakes when we see a cop car in the median? Or log on to a friend’s Netflix account? Whatever the situation—we know the rules; we subconsciously weigh if we think those rules are fair and whether or not the people who came up with them deserve our respect. When we choose to disregard the standards, we justify our deviance.
We know in our hearts that authorities are ordained by God and that we’re called to submission, but we’re caught between a rock and a hard place when doing what they say contradicts what we want to or should do.
It’s part of what makes a text like Romans 13.1-7 so hard to swallow.
“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. Consequently, whoever 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 you will be commended. 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. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 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.”
It goes without saying that at this time of an election year, the tension this text produces in its readers, or even those of us who know the reference is almost unbearable. With the weight of the election lingering we’re all either terrified or fed up, and its easier to pretend this text isn’t in the Bible than engage it thoughtfully, theologically, and practically.
The tension we feel hearing this text is a result of our own experiences (our dealings with a chauvinistic boss, non-Christian spouse, retiring pastor, or marijuana-supporting state government), the anxiety produced by this year’s presidential election, and because we can all point to examples of astronomical, oppressive governmental evil.
How can we even begin to reconcile what this text is exhorting us to do with the evil authorities at work in history through the Holocaust of Nazi Germany, apartheid in South Africa, and the mass murders presently in Korea.
All of this contributes to the tension we feel with this text—and as a result, we approach this text looking for an exception.
We bring our fears and experiences to this text and can only assume that Paul had to have meant something else than what it seems to say. Like we do with other challenging texts in Scripture, we latch on to theories that seem to make the message easier to stomach. But in looking for an exception, we approach the text irresponsibly. We forget, that at least here, in these seven verses, Paul is not concerned with an exception to the rule.
He simply makes a general exhortation reminding the Christians in Rome and Christians today, our response to authority reflects our belief in God’s sovereignty.
Let that sink in.
Our response to authority reflects our belief in God’s sovereignty.
Yikes.
Our response matters. I don’t think we intentionally question the sovereignty of God every time we complain about a teacher, undermine the decisions of a boss, or express fear at the state of our country, but we forget what Rom. 13:1 reminds, “there is no authority except that which God has established.” And yet—I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that does sometimes wonder if God knows what is going on. CNN notifications continually pop up in the right hand corner of my mac updating me on the major political issues from euthanasia, gun control, issues of gender and sex, global debt, not to mention the presidential election, and I feel downright helpless. But this helplessness, this fear, this anger at the governing authorities is not new.
It is not a surprise to God.
Remember Paul’s audience in this passage? The Roman Christians. Like us, this group of Christians was influenced by a growing discontent with the power of government, the unrest of broader culture, resistance towards taxes, and their own world renouncing theology. Many expected Jesus to come back within their lifetimes, if not by the end of the week, and thus they subsequently believed wholeheartedly that every institution of the world, particularly the unbelieving authority, was to be ignored or rebelled against for the sake of Christ.
We, like the Roman Christians, tend to respond to authority in the same two ways.
First, we respond by “ignoring.”
We ignore by running away. Take, for example, our friends that bought property out in the boonies of Oregon where they plan to have a self-sustaining farm in case everything goes to, you know where. In Jesus and Paul’s day, the Essenes were these type of people. They refused to engage the authorities and sought seclusion in the desert where they wouldn’t have to deal with the corrupt power.
We can ignore by remaining disillusioned and ignorant, all while subtly reaping the benefits of living within a system. These are the Pharisees. They claimed they were against the government, but they didn’t actually do anything about it. They continued in their work, their responsibilities, and lived within the system. I know I’m inclined to ignore in this way—educating myself takes work, and often, it’s easier to pretend like the decisions and policies the government makes won’t ever affect me, and if it does, there’s nothing I can do to change it. The reality, is that most Christians are ignorant of the government all together. We want separation of church and state and essentially pretend like the government doesn’t matter; we forget it is an institution ordained by God himself.
But Paul has something to say to those who ignore. He urges us not to run away, not to claim ignorance. He corrects our thinking by reminding us the authorities are servants of God and have been established by God, thus they ought not be ignored.
Second, we see those that respond by “rebelling.”
We rebel by doing the opposite of what is expected of us; we rebel by disregarding laws and purposefully ignoring rules. We convince ourselves that we’re doing what’s right, while really, it’s what is most beneficial to us: we justify our decisions to not get a construction permit, speed on the way to work, or own too many chickens. Our attempts at “sticking it to the man,” are our active rebellion against the authorities God has put in place.
In other cases, however, we see people, like the zealots of the early church, rebelling against authority and moral standards because it can be morally justified. Such was the case with the Planned Parenthood shooting last November in Colorado Springs. Often Christians, wanting to take the situation into their own hands, attempt to fix it for God, and up caught in the midst of rebellion. Paul wrote to these folks in chapter 12 when he reminds them to live peaceably rather than pursue vengeance. It’s in these cases that the government is the means God has instituted to carry out his judgment in the world.
And so, Paul sees these two natural responses—ignoring and rebelling against authority— and deliberately focuses on only one side of the issue regarding how to respond to the government. In Romans 13, he is not giving a carefully balanced teaching about the state.
He writes only on the positive side of government. He affirms there is more at stake in how the believers choose to respond to the authority because of what it communicates about their belief in the sovereignty of God.
