Lately, I’ve been thinking about the balance between submitting to the government and my anger about the direction our leaders are taking this nation. In Romans 13 1-7, the apostle Paul talks about the Christian’s role towards the government. He very clearly states that we are to submit to those in authority over us. He goes on to talk about how if we resist the authorities we are resisting God. All of this is pretty straightforward.
My question is this: Does this mean we can’t speak out against our nation’s leaders? I’ve been wrestling with this for the past couple of days, and I’m still not sure where I stand. Paul doesn’t say anything about speaking out against our leaders. However, he does say we are to submit to their authority. So for example, if we lived in N. Korea, and it was against the law to speak out against Kim J (I’m not even going to try to spell his last name!), then in those circumstances it would be wrong to speak against him. However, we live in a democratic republic that was built upon the principles of free speech and speaking out. This free speech was not given to us so that we could say four-letter words and look at pornography online; it was given to us so that we could speak our minds about our government. This freedom was given to us to safeguard against a tyrannical government.
The Christian who takes this stance must be very careful though. I believe that you can go too far with your free speech. We need to be careful that we aren’t disrespectful of our leaders. Ultimately, God is the one who placed them in their places of power. We might disagree with the policies of our leaders, but we still need to respect them and to be in constant prayer for them. I pray for Obama and the Congress daily that God would guide their decisions and work in their personal lives. God Bless America!
~Jacob
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I think that no matter the laws of the country, we as Christians should speak up when we see evil, whether in our fellow citizens or in our leaders. The point of Romans 13:1-7 is to emphasize the extra level of respect which should be observed toward our nation's leaders. Our comments should not be personally degrading, but to decry the evil we see in someone is not necessarily to decry the person, if it is done properly. To ignore the evil by not speaking out is every bit as wrong as speaking out with a personal attack. That such is a difficult task is undeniable, but it does not change our responsibility.
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