Walking with the Wise #239: God & Government

“An oracle is on the lips of a king;

his mouth does not sin in judgment.”
—Proverbs 16:10

Man is not the one who came up with the bright idea of government; God did. He established government to enforce justice, promote righteousness and restrain evil, which is what today’s proverb is about. An “oracle” communicates the concept of truth or standard. When the king speaks, he is doing the work of God; therefore, he is not sinning when he makes a judgment according to the law he established.

As Christians, we must respect the government that has been set above us. As the Bible says in the book of Romans,

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed”—Romans 13:1-7.

God is the author of government, appointing the civil authority for our good. But what about when the authority is evil? Think about the words of Peter, when writing about the wicked Roman Caesar Nero (A.D. 54-68), “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor”—1 Peter 2:17. Nero, if you are unaware, was Caesar during the great fire of Rome, which burned over five days, destroying much of Rome. Some believed that Nero was the culprit and affixed blame to him, but he shifted blame by targeting Christians. He then meted out punishment by having them dressed in animal skins and torn apart by dogs. Others were nailed to crosses, while still others were lit on fire and then crucified on polls so as to light up the streets. However, most scholars date Peter’s first letter to A.D. 62-63, which was before the Neronian persecution (A.D. 64). Nevertheless, one wonders whether the Spirit had that in mind, when leading Peter to write those fateful words, knowing that persecution was looming in the very near future and that Christians would need to be faithful until death, and yet honoring the emperor even as they were dying.

God has established the government and its leaders for our good, which is why we must pray for them, as Paul instructed Timothy:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”—1 Timothy 2:1-4.

God desires that all kinds of people come to the knowledge of who He is—those in leadership and the everyday person on the street, but it is through our prayers and the lives we lead that people come to know Jesus as they see Jesus in us and are drawn to Him in saving faith. We may not agree with our leaders in many different things, but we are still to honor and pray for them.

Are you leading a life that is honoring to God? Are you honoring the leaders God has given? No matter what kind of life they live? Trust in the Lord, pray for those whom He has put in authority above you, and live a life indicative of a child of God so that God may be glorified in you as the lost are drawn to Him.