Respecting Authority

Deep in the Old Testament there is the story of King Saul’s failure to respect God’s authority. After having only partially obeying God’s explicit commandments, he tried to make up for his self-willed action by promising to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to God. At this point the Scriptures present one of the finest statements in the entire Bible concerning the importance of obedience: “Has Jehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23) The principle of obedience runs through all of God’s dealings with man. It was a vital principle during the Patriarchal Age and the Mosaical Age, as it continues to be today during the Christian era. In all of the 1189 chapters of the Bible there is no more fundamental principle than that God expects man to obey His commandments. This is seen in a statement from the Prophet Isaiah, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land: but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:19-20) God created the universe for man and then placed him upon the Earth as His crowning work of creation. God then gave men guidelines about how to live in order to make his life happy and successful. These rules and commandments are not arbitrary, but are given out of the infinite love of God for mankind, for the purpose of making mankind’s life meaningful. When man violates these laws he destroys himself. It is seen more readily when man violates the law of gravity, but it is nevertheless true in the moral and spiritual realms that when man violates God’s laws, he crushes himself. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus Christ said, “Not everyone that says unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven,’” (Matthew 7:21). A similar statement is found in James 1:22, where the writer says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.” In the entire Bible there is no more fundamental principle than that of obedience. All of us are aware, out of our own experience, that it is not easy to be obedient to authority. It appears that there is an innate desire on the part of all of us to be independent and to have our own way. This seems to be an inborn, natural, universal tendency of man. Even our children do not like to be told when to get up, how to dress, what to eat, what to do, and where to go. Any superimposed authority from outside ourselves is likely to be met with resentment. But when we refuse to obey God, the results are always disastrous.