The beginning of this chapter has caused no shortage of wrestling for many throughout history. Americans, lovers of freedom and liberty, often see “the other” political party as the enemy at worst and confused idiots at best. Every policy decision and political promise is clung to and hoped on, at times more than the promises of God. I know I am in dangerous territory here, but hear me out. We do this because we have the power to convert our government as often as we want – at least part of it every two years. We (or at least some – voting is often done by a little over 50% of the population) take ownership so much so that we vilify the other side, becoming “evangelists” for our party and all that comes with it. Yet reading Romans 13:1-7 makes us crawl. We must “submit” to Barack Obama? We must “submit” to Donald Trump? We struggle with the root question – “Were the revolutionaries wrong? Should they have ‘submitted’ to the UK?” But these struggles are nothing compared to the age of the early Christians! Caesar often really WAS a monster – more than a political talking point on a 24/7 news station. Nero persecuted Jews and Christians in response to the Roman fire unjustly. Domitian, Decius and Diocletian (the 3 D’s!) persecuted Christians in extreme ways in their day. How was one to “submit” to these authorities? What is Paul saying?

Paul tells us to be subjects to government. Government – order – is God-ordained and given by Him. We are better due to order! It helps us! Rulers (even those persecuting) intend to help the “greater good.” The problem is often that “greater good” misidentifies who the “enemy” is. Christians are easy targets. Consider today those that believe they can’t participate in services that don’t honor God and are sued by the ACLU. Civil liberties often see religious belief as standing in stark contrast to one another. Sometimes “order” gets out of hand. We take the good as it comes, but we lovingly and graciously push back against the evil. Think Martin Luther King Jr. versus the Black Panthers – one is attempting to live this passage out. Paul seems to be saying, “be a great citizen, pay taxes and follow the law” but the question exists – what if the law is against God? Then we must take the path of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. King, do your worst, but we serve God and God alone. So, what do we do today? We live in a nation of unprecedented order, wealth and peace. We must be grateful for this and honor God for His blessing. We pray for and submit to the leaders that we don’t agree with. We honor our leaders as God ordained and seek to create change where injustice lives. We pay our taxes and work to make our towns, counties, states and nation better.

So, were the revolutionaries “wrong?” I think some of their motives can be questioned, for sure. Taxation without representation was hardly a revolutionary endeavor. The king, however, was crazy and did not “deserve” to be followed. We also rebelled at a time that allowed it. The whole thing might have gone differently if Britain were not side-tracked and had the French not assisted. Yet obviously God was behind it, or it would not have succeeded. God was making a new thing out of the old. This new thing has turned into a marvel – the greatest power of the past 125 years for sure and a major reason the world is the way it is (for both good and bad). We must submit to our ultimate King and honor His ways first. Then submit to our governing authorities as the authority over us, as God allows. There is a place for revolution. It starts in our hearts. Only then will we know our place in helping bring change about that pleases God (Rom 12:2).