Sometimes it can be hard to respect authority. This gets even harder when we don’t have a high opinion of whatever boss, elected official, or state patrol officer is asserting their authority over us.
But as Christians and as parents, we have to remember that the Bible calls us to submit to legitimate authorities. For the good of our families, we must model this behavior for our kids and be faithful in training them to respect authority as well.
How News Headlines and Scripture can Show Us Why it is Important to Respect Authority
Parents can learn a few things from the tragic circumstances that occurred a few years back in Ferguson, Missouri. Regardless of your take on the racial component of this unfortunate event, there is one thing that seems to be clear in this and so many other similar tragedies.
There’s a chance that many of these situations were avoidable. It’s impossible to know for sure, but if the victims in these situations had been more compliant with those in authority over them, it seems that their tragic deaths wouldn’t have been the outcome of their interactions with the police.
As parents teach their kids to respect parental authority, it is important to also teach them to submit to and respect all those with valid authority over them. These authority figures are people like instructors, ministers, managers, coaches, and law enforcement.
Paul the Apostle instructs in Romans 13 to “be subject to governing authorities.” We are taking a risk if we resist them, and as Paul points out, they “do not bear the sword for nothing.”
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