Read 1 Peter 2:11-17
How do you feel about President Obama? Do you respect your teachers? Do you follow your parents' leadership? Do you take your boss at work seriously? If a cop pulls you over for speeding, do you laugh it off?
Many teenagers have a big problem with authority. Because they are growing up and don't feel that they are kids anymore, they think they can make their own rules. Many think that they shouldn't have to answer to anyone. I remember being shocked by how other students treated our teachers in school. Still others would appear polite but slander them behind their backs. I know I've been guilty of that last one. What does God say about all of this? Isn't He our only authority as Christians?
God is certainly our ultimate authority, but He also places other authority figures in our lives for us to follow. Verse 13 states God's will clearly: "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors..." Of course we don't have kings in America, but we all have various authority figures in our lives. In a teenager's life, the authority figures include parents, teachers, principals, ministers, employers, government officials, etc. The truth to be gleaned here is simple. As Christians we are to be law-abiding citizens who respect the authority figures in our lives and follow their rules. We are doing this "for the Lord's sake;" whether we personally like the authority figure or not, we are submitting to him/her out of obedience to the Lord (13).
Clearly, if your leader asks you to do something unbiblical, you should disobey, because God is the supreme authority of Christians. One example of this is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego;the king asks them to worship a statue, and they refuse. Obviously this was a rule they could not submit to, because it broke God's law. You also see this in the lives of the apostles, who were commanded by city authorities to stop preaching the gospel, but kept on spreading the good news of Jesus anyway.
Not only does this type of respect for authority please God, but it serves as an excellent witness to those who fail to do so. Verse 15 states that your godly actions may "silence the ignorance of foolish men." Your good deeds will bring glory to God and lead others to Him (12).
Are you respectful to authority? Do you grumble complaints against our president or ridicule your teachers? It is hard to respect someone when you don't agree with their beliefs or admire them personally. However, regardless of how we feel about a leader's choices or values, they deserve our respect. Do you need to repent of disrespecting authority figures in your life? I know I do! Ask the Lord right now to help you show respect to the authority figures in your life and follow their rules with a joyful heart.
