Submission for God’s Sake
To be submissive grates against our flesh. Humans naturally want to be in charge – especially of our own lives. However, a spiritual people must live differently. When we give ourselves completely over to God, our view on submission begins to change. This change brings about a freedom that contradicts our previous thoughts; at least, it did for me.
Being raised as a patriotic American, I always viewed freedom in tandem with rebellion against tyranny. As a maturing Christian, I was greatly convicted by what I learned in scripture. Peter’s comments on this issue are perfectly clear and unmistakable: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.” The only allowance in scripture for defying the ruling power comes when we talk about sharing the truth about God and Jesus. We see this from Peter himself in Acts 4. Peter and John were arrested for preaching about the resurrection of Jesus. When they were released, the rulers charged them to stop teaching or talking about him. Peter’s answer can be read in verses 19-20: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
In Peter’s words to servants, he makes a very important comment that was implied in the previous section. He writes, “Be submissive to your master with all respect, not only to the kind and gentle but also to the overbearing.” The Romans ruled over the Jews in the days of Peter, but they were far from kind or gentle towards them. They had no love for the people they had conquered. In fact, the Romans despised the Jews. Still, Peter tells them to submit. Therefore, we cannot make the excuse that our rebellion stems from mistreatment or even evil rule. Our submission is not because we feel it appropriate. Our submission is because God commands it. We submit as if we were submitting to the Lord – not for the sake of the human demanding it.
Submission brings forth joy and peace. That feels like a contradiction to our flesh, but it is true. When we submit to God, we are declaring our trust in Him. We are able to relax in the comfort of His ability to handle our lives. We don’t have to worry about tomorrow because it is already known to our God. We don’t have to stress about the preparations because we believe God will prepare opportunities for us along the way. Peace is the natural biproduct of submission to the Lord. Submission to man for man’s sake does not always bring peace. This is because mankind is far from perfect, far from able to handle their own lives much less ours, far from knowledgeable about the future, and far from predicting every calamity that will come. This is why 1 Peter 2:13 says, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake…” It isn’t because those we are submitting to deserve our obedience or loyalty but because doing so you “put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” (verse 15)
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
Comments