On Pool Parties and Public Officials
This morning, I woke up to this question from one of our Missional Community (small group) leaders in Karis Church.
“What if none of the other families in your MC seems to be social distancing any more and have started to gather with other families? We are trying to navigate not being the odd one out while also wanting to follow guidelines and wisdom of leaders.”
To hear the struggle of that leader in attempting to guide his family and his MC in simply obeying the law was deeply discouraging.
In addition, much of America was introduced to the Lake of the Ozarks this past weekend via major news outlets. How embarrassing was that? Crowds of partygoers at the lake, defying the law, flaunting their “liberty.” Not a good look.
Friends, those two examples really don’t differ in kind, but rather degree. There were just cameras rolling in the latter. Both situations show a disregard for the law, and thus authority. But that shouldn’t be the way of the Christ-follower.
Why’s that? We follow our Lord, our authority. We’ve given our lives to Him. He rules over us. We submit to Jesus. We trust in His kind, benevolent reign. We seek to do what He asks - not because it earns His favor, but because we already have it by grace. And one thing that He asks us is to submit to authority. I’ll go beyond that: one thing that He graciously gives us is authority.
Consider these two passages - one from Romans, and the other from 1 Peter.
Rom. 13:1 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 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, 4 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. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 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. 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
1Pet. 2:13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
As you read those passages carefully, some themes emerge. We’re to obey these authorities. Period. Remember, Paul and Peter weren’t writing to believers living under a kind regime. They lived under the ruthless Roman Empire. Yes, we do see the early Christians resist the government on occasion. But this was only when prohibited from preaching the gospel. They disobeyed when Caesar attempted to muzzle them. Would they have resisted had he tried to mask them? I find that hard to believe. God had told them to obey the ruling authorities.
They’re there for our good. The apostles and the early church truly believed this. And so should we - even if we struggle with those currently in office. Those men or women in those seats of authority, making the decisions they do, are there to serve us. You may respond, “They’re taking away our liberties.” But that’s what good governments do! We need our sinful, selfish impulses restrained - by leaders, by laws. Yes, at times governments can certainly be repressive. But this isn’t Rome, where citizens were hanged along roadways and Christians were lit as lawn torches. We’re being asked to limit our gathering size and stand six feet apart.
They’ve been put there by God. Why is that health department director in that post? How did that congresswomen end up in her position? They’re serving and speaking from that place by the sovereign plan of God. The Lord “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11). For years, we’ve quoted these helpful words from John Piper in Karis Church:
This "all things" includes the fall of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), the rolling of dice (Proverbs 16:33), the slaughter of his people (Psalm 44:11), the decisions of kings (Proverbs 21:1), the failing of sight (Exodus 4:11), the sickness of children (2 Samuel 12:15), the loss and gain of money (1 Samuel 2:7), the suffering of saints (1 Peter 4:19), the completion of travel plans (James 4:15), the persecution of Christians (Hebrews 12:4-7), the repentance of souls (2 Timothy 2:25), the gift of faith (Philippians 1:29), the pursuit of holiness (Philippians 3:12-13), the growth of believers (Hebrews 6:3), the giving of life and the taking in death (1 Samuel 2:6), and the crucifixion of his Son (Acts 4:27-28) (John Piper).
As R.C. Sproul once put it: “There is no maverick molecule if God is sovereign.” God has placed these leaders in their positions. If we resist them, we’re truly resisting Him. This is something we must pass on to our children. “Child, God gave me to you. He gave that police officer to you. That teacher is there because of God. When you obey them, you obey Him, you obey me. It’s possible someone may ask you to disobey God, but those times are rare. Don’t then! But He’s in control. So trust Him. And obey.” We have to get this through our heads and into our hearts, church. And not just so we can model it to them. Our mission depends upon it.
How sad will it be when none of us can get what we want - to go back to “normal” - because we didn’t do what we were asked! But that’s how life works, is it not? We give up we want in the short term for what’s best in the long-term - or we suffer the consequences. We submit to authority, because we trust things will go better for us. Right? We’re to obey them. It’s for our good. God’s put them there.
We’re called to love. There’s one more theme that stands out in these verses - an encouragement to love. Love your leaders, and don’t make things more difficult for them as they try to protect us from this virus (and yes, this includes church leaders trying to navigate these trying times!).
Love your brothers and sisters. Don’t put them in the difficult situation that MC leader finds himself in - of protecting his family or loving his small group. Don’t harm your church community’s spiritual health by avoiding them as you violate the law with others. Don’t threaten their physical health as you come together with them after having disregarded the law.
Love your neighbors. This is the main reason why you should social distance or limit your group size or, I would argue, wear a mask in public - to love those around you, to adorn the gospel of Jesus (Titus 2:1-10).
You may say, “I’m not giving up my rights!” But isn’t that what Jesus did for us? Isn’t it what He calls us to? And, once again, we don’t have the right to violate the law. Yes, there can be some diversity of belief in how to best respond to the pandemic. Certainly, we can even lovingly petition our governing authorities at times. However, there shouldn’t be any debate about this: God has put these leaders in place, they have decreed these rules, and we should obey them.
You may say, “But this isn’t the American way!” But our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Our primary allegiance is to Jesus and His kingdom. Certainly there are times when that citizenship means we must stand up to leaders and the law. However, here is a question to ask when we wonder if that might be the case: is this about me and my rights, or about what’s good for my brother or neighbor? Should I still preach the gospel? Yes. My neighbors must hear this. Should I speak out against injustice? Yes, my brothers and sisters deserve better. That question, along with a few minutes of reflection, might cause us to put down our fists and go wash our hands.
So the next time you have this thought - “I can’t take it any more. I’ve had enough. This is all stupid.” - ask this question: “What can I no longer handle? What have I had my fill of? What am I calling foolish?” You may not like the answer, but it’s this: “God. His reign. His goodness.” Lord, have mercy on us.