My parents said a lot of things that I vowed I would never say when I became a parent. Strangely I found myself repeating a number of those phrases later in life. Kids can be relentless in their defiance of parental authority. When I would tell my kids to do something, they would almost always ask, “Why?” I would usually tolerate their questioning of my directive for a little while. When I had heard enough, following in my father’s footsteps, I would say, “Because I said so, that’s why!” Later in life that developed into demanding they just respond with two words, “Yes dad.” I wasn’t always right, but I was always had their best interest at heart.
We have had a lot of tension in our country lately over authority. I believe these problems go much deeper. First let me preface my statements by saying that in no way do I condone the abuse of authority, or the use of violent force against innocent people. I strongly believe that people can carry their authority too far. We see this in child abuse cases. However, there is an overwhelming lack of respect for authority in our culture. Paul taught in Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For… the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” God set up a system of authority in our world for us to follow and respect. This system is designed to protect us and provide for us. Sometimes the person appointed as an authority figure can be corrupt, but that still does not exempt us from respecting the position of authority. King Saul was a man that abused his authority. He became jealous of David’s popularity and tried to kill David. David had to flee the palace and live life on the run. Yet when David had two opportunities to take matters into his own hands and kill Saul, he refused saying, “Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.” David recognized that if he disrespected Saul’s position as king, he would be disrespecting God.
This week I was listening to a radio discussion on the most recent episode of a policeman in the spotlight. A man called in and said something so shocking to me that I almost drove off the road. He said, “You can’t expect people to respect you just because you carry a badge and a gun.” Seriously? There is a difference between respecting a person and respecting the authority they represent. Certainly there are some isolated instances in our country of the abuse of power among a very small number of authority figures. You may dislike these people because of their lack of character, but you still have to respect the position that they stand in. Without law enforcement and a respect for authority we will have chaos.
Years ago there was a popular bumper sticker that read, “Question Authority.” An overwhelming attitude of rebellion has been brewing in our culture for years. We have been raising generations of kids who do not respect their parents, their teachers, or themselves. As they become adults this translates into a lack of respect for police, supervisors, pastors, and God. Matthew 24:12 says that lawlessness will abound in the last days. We are seeing the beginning of this. If we do not begin to teach kids to respect authority, total anarchy may not be far behind. These things are dividing our country. Some people stand on the side of the victimized. Some people stand on the side of the police. This is not a black and white issue, it is a spiritual issue. I believe we all need to stand on the Word of God and pray for our nation. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV). Lord heal our land!