Show Respect For Authority

And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD (I Samuel 24:6).

David had great respect for Saul (the king), even though Saul was trying to kill him. Although Saul was in a state of sin and rebellion against God, David still respected the position Saul held as God’s anointed king. David knew he would one day be king, and he also knew it was not right to strike down the man God had placed on the throne. If he assassinated Saul, he would be setting a precedent for his opponents to remove him someday.

God has ordained civil government and requires men to obey and to respect those who are in authority (Rom. 13:1-2,5-7). When there is no government, there is anarchy because of the sinful and selfish nature of man. The role of the government is to maintain peace and order in this wicked world, to punish evil and to reward righteousness (Rom. 13:3-4; I Pet. 2:14; Job 29:17). While we may not know exactly why God allow evil and corrupt leaders to have authority in our government, but, like David, we are to respect the positions and roles of those to whom God has given authority. The Bible clearly declares that "the king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will" (Proverbs 21:1). Since we choose our leaders, they are our heart’s choice. If our hearts are far from the Lord, that may lead us to choose wrong leaders. And, God can even harden the hearts of our leaders to cause them to become burdens for us. Yet, if we repent and turn to God and pray to Him to change the hearts of our leaders and to enlighten them, the Lord promised to answer our prayers because He is in control and can intervene even with the affairs of men.

While God wants His people to obey civil government, there is a limit: when the government requires disobedience to God (Act. 4:19-20; 5:29; Dan. 6:10). God does not require obedience to man’s law if in so obeying the Christians is forced to disobey the Scriptures. For example, if a government passes laws that restrict the preaching of God’s Word, the Christians are forced to break man’s law in order to obey the Higher Law---the One who has ALL POWER in Heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18-20)

Bible Reading:I Samuel 24:1-22