Naturally, my parents were the primary
authority figures in my early life. Truthfully,
they still hold that place of honor and respect,
even today. Outside of them, the chief
authority figures for me in my formative years
were coaches. In particular, I had one coach
who was the epitome of authority, but not
necessarily for the right reasons. His was a
rigid, inflexible authority, in fact. He was
domineering, difficult, disciplinarian, and often
cruel. He is what today we would call “old
school.” He wielded his authority as a
weapon, and he did it with great effect. When
we played against other teams, for instance,
we played our hearts out, and we won far
more often than we lost. The reason? It was
not so much that we “hated” the other team,
or even that we hated losing (which we did).
Rather, we gave everything we had because
we hated what the consequence would be if
we did not. To be honest, we actually hated
that coach. But our fear of him outstripped
even our hatred. So, we toed the line.
Authority is everywhere in our lives—
parents, bosses, police, and the like. There is
nowhere in this world where we are free from
the influence of authority. Wherever we go, we
live in the shadow of something or someone
that is “tasked” with monitoring and ordering
our behavior. There are rules and regulations
in our world. There also are people to whom
we must report; people to whom we are
responsible for our actions; people who watch
us and watch over us, usually for our own good,
and for the good of our society at large.
In Romans, Paul tells us—in no
uncertain terms, in fact—that God is the
one who originates authority. Whatever
that authority may be, Paul says, it is God
who is the author. “There is no authority
except from God, and those that exist have
been instituted by God.” Now, I do not
believe that Paul is writing about football
coaches in this text. But I am convinced
that he is referring to the civic authorities
under which each of us lives. This is not an
easy concept for us—for me!—to grasp.
Actually, truthfully, it is not an easy concept
for me to accept. I do not like to think that
the flawed, broken human system under
which we live is something that is
“instituted by God.” Yet, I cannot in good
conscience deny what inspired Scripture
tells me. That is, God uses human
authority for God’s purposes. And, God
uses human authority for God’s own
goodness and glory. Sometimes (often?),
this is difficult to comprehend. But it is for
our betterment and for the praise of God.
In other words, we honor God, and we
live in the will of God, when we live lovingly
and peacefully as citizens of the
community in which God has placed us. In
so doing, however, we ultimately live as
ones who know that our citizenship is not
in this ephemeral world, but in the world to
come.
Let us all therefore do the will of God by
living peaceful and quiet lives, being
representatives of God’s love, care,
compassion, and kindness.
–Ricky