Secularism, Submission to Authority, & The Sovereignty of God

“Resist.” This has been the charge, in many ways, of the late modern era, dating back even to our own American Revolution. Summarized succinctly in the words of General George S. Patton, “Americans love to fight.” Resist authoritarian rule, resist our parents, resist the establishment, resist corrupt politicians. Resist, resist, resist!

Of course, God has given His church a voice to engage in discourse with the world and to stand boldly against corruption. We are not called to stand idly by as millions of unborn children die, thousands are abused through the pornography industry, homelessness runs rampant without the bat of an eye, and corruption intensifies globally. However, have we ever stopped to consider whether or not the constant cultural milieu to “resist” is right in God’s eyes? Better yet, have we ever stopped to wrestle with how we individually think about and deal with authority over us? In my experience, I’m willing to argue that most of us have not.

Now, before you click off of this blog, my aim in writing this blog is not necessarily to engage with the secular atheist who feels the need to be engaged with every protest that happens in the Boston Common. Blog posts should be written to that audience. My target audience, however, is not the extremist, but the moderate. And even the committed Christian. It’s my cultural assessment that in a culture of such grand polarization, most Christians fall into this category of moderatism politically, socially, and even morally.

With those moderates as my assumed audience, my thesis for each of us lies in our submission (or lack thereof) to authority: Do you have a(n) (even subtle) problem with submission? And—let me be clear—this submission could be anything from vocational submission and a boss that you can’t stand to a husband that you dearly love. Do you tend to “buck against” authority? Do you feel the need to push back consistently at decisions that are made within the church? At your job? At home? If we’re honest, most people of Western culture would answer in the affirmative. If you are of a more traditional culture, however, you may find submission quite easy (sometimes to your neglect). But for us Westerners, it’s been instilled in us to always have a raised eyebrow toward authorities over us, particularly in the aftermath of the moral failings of those authorities. It has even, in my assessment, become common among Christians to reject those ruling over us—governmentally, ecclesially (within the church), or otherwise.

Or—and I think this is where most of us probably struggle—how do you handle those moments with an authority over you (even one that you willingly submit to) where you may disagree with that authority? Let’s say that the action the authority figure takes isn’t necessarily wrong morally, but you just disagree with it. How are you to handle that as a Christian?

A Story with Authority: Resistance

As with any author, this apple-like discussion does not fall far from its author’s tree. If I’m honest, I have a history of sometimes ever-so-slightly disdaining authority figures over me. There is a tendency within me to, especially when I feel like I would do things better, be averse to those above me. And I especially can’t stand submitting to someone who does not have a clear explanation for why their ways of doing things are better than my own. Of course, this speaks to the pride of my own heart. I also think this thought process is in agreement with what many of us feel: Disagree with a boss, require an explanation of that boss, disdain the boss because of their poor exercise of authority.

As some have recently argued, however, there is a sort of creep that has occurred in all of us, stemming from the secular air we breathe. Secular culture’s extremist rebuttal against authority has rubbed off on many of us in the church, charging us once more with that small whisper echoing in our ear: resist. And it leaves me wondering—have I been susceptible to this? Who am I to think that I have a better will and capability to exercise authority than those over me? 

The Apostle’s Charge Under Authority: Humility

Recently, I was challenged by one of the most staggering texts in Scripture relative to this subject. First Peter 5 lays out a charge that, when put into practice, is quite diminishing to our resistant intuitions. For the sake of the argument, I’m going to summarize Peter’s sentences and leave out important details and verse numbers. Peter exhorts (v. 1-10):

I exhort the elders among you… shepherd the flock of God… not domineering over those in your charge, but [as] examples to the flock. … Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be soberminded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace… will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

In a passage on the relationship between elders and congregants of a local church, Peter turns to those under the authority of elders and reminds them of something so radically against the charge of our culture: “Clothe yourselves… with humility.” Submit yourselves to the rule above you. Subject yourselves.

Who among us has not disagreed with an authority figure over us? I contend that this is why Peter’s reminder about the devil’s prowling around is specifically in regards to the temptation to stand against authorities placed over us. After all, this was the serpent’s first act in the Garden of Eden: To call Adam and Eve to rebel against the authority over them in God Himself. And yet Peter’s charge is that congregants should not feel this tension to constantly stand against any authority, but to walk in humble submission to those authorities placed over them. In fact, the only time that Peter charges them to “resist” an authority is the authority of the devil himself (v. 9).

Importantly, for those who have been Christians for a length of time, you may be familiar with verse 7: “... casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” In its fuller context, this promise is not just about daily anxieties broadly, but more specifically concerns the anxiety that is felt when those above you may exercise unrighteous authority. In the fuller context of this passage, Peter is speaking to God’s people as they undergo tremendous suffering at the hand of an unrighteous government. It would have been radical for them to hear such words as these. Humble yourselves. Cast your worries about those authorities above you on the Supreme Authority.

A Sovereign God of Authority

So, for those of us who fear authority, how do we deal with that authority? Humility. Humble yourself, and submit. The reality is, according to Romans 13, those authorities over us have been placed there by God. And any rejection of such authority is actually ultimately a rejection of God’s authority over us. The call for those of us who subtly struggle to submit to authority—a boss, a spouse, a manager, a co-worker, a parent—is to trust in the sovereign God of the universe. Even… when you’re wronged (1). Let’s say that the authority truly does act in unrighteousness. The command toward humble submission remains. After all, the church Peter was writing to was under the rule of unrighteousness (see 1 Peter 4:12-13). The reality is, when we experience this form of unrighteous authority, we identify with Christ who experienced death at the hands of unrighteous authority in those who put Him to death. And yet, even so, he submitted to the will of the Supreme Authority, His good and loving Father.

Submit in service to God in the work place, in school, in ministry, and the promise is that he will exalt you at the right time. That may mean now—that you get the promotion you long for, so that you’re in authority. But it also may mean in death, when you’re exalted to heaven above to reign with Christ forevermore.

(1) Note: When I argue to submit to an unrighteous authority, I am not stating that you must always remain in relationship to that authority, especially if it is truly abusive. As Jonathan Haidt has argued, language of abuse has been applied to less-than-abusive situations and, in doing so, has diminished true abuse. For those who have been truly subject to abuse (i.e. from a spouse), immediately seek separation for your own safety, seek counsel from local authorities, and seek help from your local church.