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Honor the king?

Submission to Authority and Absolute Surrender

November 4, 2013 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment


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Who are these guys?!

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.Romans 13:1

Honor the king?
The nine European Monarchs who attended the funeral of King Edward VII of Britain, a personification of the fashionable, leisured elite.
You ask yourself, “how can this be? You didn’t intend for us to follow this God? Did you?! Not our governing authority, no way.” Yet, in reality, you have no right to ask this question. In fact, the people that actually have reason to ask this are living in countries with no access to electricity, or water, or internet; in these countries, even those with enough freedom to access the internet access a government-censored version of the internet. So, if you’re reading this article, you probably have very little right to speak your complaint.

That said, the fact remains that we live in a world where it is clear to see that evil men have come to power and wield that power destructively.

How do we respond? How should we respond?

How do we continue to love and follow a God that would allow — nay, establish — governing authorities such as these?

A greater perspective

Know that you are not the first.

Without drawing political lines, it’s easy to see patterns of destructive governing well past the last couple decades; we see this poor leadership style for centuries and even millenniums. Some of the first kings described in scripture paint pictures of hard-hearted pharaohs deep in the B.C. This is not a difficult point to argue.

If God establishes authorities, even those that abuse their powers, how do we continue to follow and trust Him? Can we even learn to honor those that God has placed in authority, even when we suffer under their rule?

How would you have responded as a Hebrew slave of Egypt, forced to maintain an already impossible brick-making quota while no longer being supplied with straw for the project? (Exodus 5)

Moses, the man chosen by God to lead the Jewish nation out of captivity, responded to God with frustration over his God-given responsibility and accusation that “you have not rescued your people at all.” (Exodus 5:24) And to be honest, sadly, I’d probably be right there next to him, wagging my finger at God. Isn’t that in our nature? To judge things we don’t understand?

A radical response to evil

This discussion resonates around “the problem of evil”; how can a good God reign while evil things happen? Luckily, the Bible isn’t silent on the subject. Take the story of Job. This guy was all but tortured. Losing all of his kids, his entire property, including servants… all on the same day, he responds in worship:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21

Woah! That’s radical. May I argue that we don’t criticize God until we’ve endured the same and responded likewise?

Brace yourself like a man

But that’s not all. On another day, he loses his health and his wife tells him to give up his integrity, curse God and die. His friends gather to sympathize with him, but that ends in a mess. When Job is defeated and responds to God in frustration and accusation, Yahweh responds as only He can:

“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Job 38:2-3“

Oh! And the discourse that follows is incredible. Job is put in his place like none before — and we are wise to accept the same disciplining response.

Authority intimately tied to identity

Still, how do we come to grips with this clearly incongruous information: that God is good, but allows evil men to rule?

I think the answer lies in our understanding of God’s sovereignty. Is God truly God or is He not?

See, what’s funny is that when Job questions God’s motives, God doesn’t validate the question with a direct answer, but simply and powerfully points Job’s attention to the identity of God.

Could it be that the answer to the problem of good and evil lies in our pursuit to know the identity of God? In turning our focus on God’s character, especially in the life of Christ, can we find resolution to this age-old question?

Does a clear view of Christ — the alpha and the omega, the author and finisher, the true authority over life and death — enable us to show honor to our government? Even that president or that governing official?

Our response

The rest of Romans 13 instructs us not to rebel against the authority God instituted and thus bring judgement on ourselves. Paul admonishes submission to authority — even to show respect, honor and pay taxes (gasp!) — not for fear of punishment, but out of a clean conscience.

When I encounter evil men in authority, or the consequences of poor decisions made by governing officials, here is my obligation and opportunity to glorify God:

  • Get a clear view of Christ. Understanding God’s identity reveals our identity.
  • Chose to show honor. Moses and Job aren’t given an exception; nor will you.
  • Be available. Whether in prayer or service, God may want to use you to answer the problem.

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Disputed. Tolstoy, War and Peace

It’s good practice to never point a finger before asking if God intends to use us as the solution. As His hands and feet, we may be the surrendered vessel God has been waiting for.

Some folks exercising their authority for good

  • International Justice Mission. Using law to rescue modern-day slaves.
  • Save The Storks. A radical new approach to combating abortion.
  • Revolution5 Leadership Institute.* Training up young Christian leaders to influence every sphere of society.
(Shameless self-plug)

Filed Under: Surrender Tagged With: Authority, Government, Injustice, Lordship, Sovereignty of God, Surrender, The Problem of Evil, Trust

Ending Welfare

August 8, 2012 by brianmichaelsteck 5 Comments


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The topic of poverty is set within some deep waters, as only some can identify with it, most would like to avoid it and no one seems to have the answers for it. I can’t say that I’m any better off than the majority, as I have always had my needs met, in honesty must admit that I love luxury over scarcity and at best my ideas are lofty and idealistic. Nevertheless, poverty is a concern to me. My heart goes out to those who are barely getting by, and my anger is stirred when I see the disparity between the rich and the poor. “Ending welfare” is both a concept and an indicator of the greater task at hand — ending poverty.

 

The Situation

A recent report titled How America’s Losing The War on Poverty explains that roughly “16 percent of Americans live at or below the poverty line.” That means that 84 percent live above the poverty line. With some CEOs raking in 380 times an average worker’s pay in America, you begin to realize that there are two different stories going on.

America went through some hard years recently with the “housing crisis”, but we still come nowhere close to the type of poverty that most live with around the world. Poverty, by third world standards, is living on less than $1-2 per day. When you compare that with “Poverty in America” being $23,000 per year for a family of four, it begins to look as if we are the “CEOs” of today’s global economy.

There is absolute poverty and relative poverty. In America, even the poorest only suffer from relative poverty, and oftentimes there are opportunities available to end that poverty — unlike children and families living in the dirt out in the fields of Somalia or India.

Briefly, before we move on, let me be clear that in my opinion, America’s view on wealth and need is grossly distorted. NPR’s article that I mentioned earlier stated “On top of that, 100 million of us — 1 out of 3 Americans — manage to survive on a household income barely twice that amount. How is this poverty crisis happening?” I don’t know if the frustration that is aroused in my by this type of comment is common to others, but I think that it’s ridiculous to think that families living on $46,000 per year are “managing to survive”. When you’ve got a car, a phone and a choice of what kind of cereal you want to eat in the morning (which is what $46k can afford), this is simply an absurd statement that reveals the true state of the American mind.

 

So, what do we do about it?

“Give your money away and all live happily ever after.”

Well, that’s the simple answer. But in reality, it’s not far from the truth. A major problem that I see is that at some point, the Church stopped being the Church. Christians stopped reflecting Christ.

When this happened, the government saw the people that the Church used to take in, pray for, heal, feed, protect and provide for, and people said, “There’s a lot of hurting people. We should do something about it.” But unfortunately, American’s looked to the government to fix it. So the government started a lot of programs, like welfare, medicare, medicaid, social security, etc.

We have come to learn that these programs are now underfunded and, in the case of welfare, a larger detriment to the people they are trying to help. By this, I mean that when the idea of selling food stamps for drugs or making the decision to be unemployed because welfare provides enough to get by — when these behaviors are the result of our “help”, we are obviously no real benefit at all. Yes, this may be the case of some people’s poor decisions may ruining it for others, but I believe that the task of feeding the hungry should never have been placed on the government’s shoulders. Christ clearly told his followers to take care of that; that generosity and caring for the needs of others would be a mark of a true believer.

Welfare is a sign that the Church has departed from Christ. I believe that ending welfare, by the Church meeting the needs of the poor, is part of the Kingdom of God coming on this earth.

The way that legislature works, trying to pass even the simplest laws into effect can take months and thousands of dollars worth of salaries of politicians and lobbyists. So trying to change our society from the top down is a large waste of effort.

Instead, I think Christ modeled a grass-roots approach. He gathered some simple fisherman to spread the news of the Kingdom of God, so it’s fair to say that a group of passionate, educated people such as ourselves might have what it takes to take on a poverty-sized challenge.

 

The Church being the Church

The Church must return to being the Church that God intended it to be. From the earliest onset of the Kingdom of God on earth, we were given the command to manage well what we have been entrusted. We are to be stewards of our resources — time, money, energy, intelligence — to accomplish God’s will. His will is that all should come to know Him and that His Kingdom come to earth as it is in heaven, where there is no weeping, death or poverty.

This means that Church needs to step through the barriers of welfare, crossing the lines of responsibility and take on the needs of those around them. And perhaps, we must take on the needs of those that are not around us as well. With the abundant resources that we have been given, we often chose to live in communities of people with similar resources, so the problem of poverty is nowhere to be seen. It may be that we need to move into parts of town that are hurting, or at least spend time there, so we can become acquainted with the needs around us.

 

The grass-roots approach

But this lifestyle change and responsibility swap will not happen if we wait for our preachers to tell us from the pulpit. The sad truth is that most preachers will avoid delivering the full weight of what needs to be said because their own livelihood depends on whether or not people like what they are saying; and who likes to be told that their lifestyle is too comfortable and they need to pursue a radical faith if they are to have any sincere faith at all?

No, this lifestyle change happens at home and in the heart. It begins by God changing our hearts and opening our eyes. It looks like leaders of the household, men of God, rising up and guiding their families toward a more fruitful and sold-out existence as a family. It looks like sacrifices made in the home and the budget that enable generosity as it as never been seen before.

When families are changed, they change those around them, including the local church. And in the words of Bill Hybels, “When you change the local church, you change the world.”

 

A dream for tomorrow

I truly believe that it can happen and that God will support our efforts if we begin to pursue His will and love others as Christ modeled servant-hearted love. I believe that our money and effort extended to the needs around us — the single mothers, the widows and the orphans — can snuff out the fires of relative poverty in our neighborhoods, causing the government to see that the problems no longer exist. In order for this to happen, it must spread in a wide-scale fashion, but it must also stir deeply in our own hearts and minds, so that every decision we make runs through a filter asking, “Does this purchase or decision enable me to reflect the love of Christ, bring the Kingdom of God and steward my resources in the most God-honoring way possible?”

When we do this, we will be changed — and we will ignite a type of blaze that engulfs the comatose, zombie-like pursuit of vain luxuries fueled by self-centered consumerism and perpetual commercialism in our lives today.

Filed Under: The Kingdom Centered Mind Tagged With: Authentic Christianity, Generosity, Government, Injustice, Kingdom of God, Poverty, Stewardship, Surrender, Welfare

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