KINGS 2
Imagine two scenarios:
#1. A government official announces a regulation. You comply, even if you do so reluctantly.
#2. Your hostel representative says: “Everyone must clean their rooms before 9am.” Suddenly something inside you reacts. Your mind begins to ask: “Why? Who does she think she is? We are in the same class. Why should I obey this loud and lousy girl? I’m likely older than she is…”
Now, pause for a moment…
What is that thing in your heart that begins to resist? Is the issue really the instruction or the person who gave it?
Does the command to honour kings and submit to those in authority apply close to home also: to people a bit more ‘ordinary’, like your class representative, your loud hostel head, the ‘annoying’ chore manager at home, or your elder brother who is left in charge when your parents are absent?
When the One in Authority Is Familiar
When we read Scriptures talk about honouring kings and rulers or submitting to authority, many of us immediately think about national government: presidents, governors, ministers and maybe senators or judges. When we let it trickle down, we agree that we should honour parents, bosses, principals, head teachers, landlords, etc.
But we barely ever apply it to these everyday people in authority that we interact with. So there is the peculiar struggle that comes with honouring authority when the authority is familiar: someone who supervises the kitchen, coordinates the hostel or leads your class. Many times, these people are your peers. They may even be your friends.
When we resist authority simply because it is familiar, what does that reveal?
Authority Is About Responsibility
Apart from the fact that there is something in human nature that is rebellious and despises submission, people find it easy to submit when the authority is older, more impressive, charismatic, or more distant.
But that is not how order works. On a football team, two players may be the same age and may even be close friends. But one of them is the captain. On the field, when the captain speaks, his words have weight because he has been entrusted with a responsibility.
Authority is about order, and honouring authority is not about flattering a person. When you honour them, you are honouring the structure that allows the community to function in an orderly manner. Your response to the smaller structures often reveals the true posture of your heart.
The Real Issue Is Not Authority, It’s the Heart
ALSO READ: CHANGING GOD?
“Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much…” (Luke 16:10 ESV)
If someone cannot honour a ‘lesser’ authority, what will happen when they encounter a large authority?
Our actions towards these authority shows whether we understand God’s order and structure. Disregarding these authorities shows a lack of trust in God, and that you do not believe that ‘there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God’ (Rom. 13:1 BSB)
The next time someone gives an instruction and you feel the resistance rising inside of you, pause and ask yourself:
- Is this instruction actually unreasonable?
- Am I reacting because the person is familiar?
- Am I resisting the instruction, or resisting the idea that someone near me has authority?
These small moments reveal things inside us.
A Different Way to See Authority
Stop seeing authority around you as people controlling people, but as people appointed by God to carry that responsibility. So, the class representative carries responsibility for the class. The hostel head carries responsibility for the hostel. The team leader carries responsibility for the team.
When we honour that responsibility, we are aligning with God’s order.
One Last Question
Think about your everyday environment: school, workplace, church, home, etc. Who are the people in authority there who carry small responsibilities?
Now ask yourself honestly:
Do I honour them? Or do I only honour authority when it is big, distant, and impressive?
READ NEXT: HONOUR (PART 26)
