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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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 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, …. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 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. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law. For the Commandments … are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law. (Romans 13:1-3, 6-10)
This is one of the hardest passages in the Bible for people who want to do right by God and the government both. It’s been a hard passage ever since Paul’s own time, when he was beheaded by the authority of the emperor Nero. It’s easy to see why we have to pay taxes and obey a good government that is doing what God intends it to do; but what happens when we live under a Nero, a Pol Pot, a Hitler? What happens when government goes bad?
That’s where Paul’s final verses come into play: “Pay to all what is owed to them … Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.” Or as Jesus said it, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:17b, NIV).
There are things that rightly belong to government, even a bad government; you’ve probably heard “Salute the uniform if you can’t salute the person wearing it.” But when government comes into conflict with God, Peter had it right: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29, NIV) Jesus Himself did this, when He allowed Himself to be arrested by government authorities who had no intention of giving Him a fair trial. But though He handed Himself over, He did not hand over the lives of His disciples, because “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.” Jesus put their lives—and ours—above His own; He rendered to the authorities all the respect and obedience due them, but He gave God what was God’s—His fullest obedience, His life, and our rescue.
“Love is the fulfilling of the Law,” says the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul. When we have to navigate difficult times (as my husband did when his life was in danger from the Communist authorities), we can look to our Savior Jesus for help following His example of love. He died and rose for us so that we might be God’s own children, joyfully giving Him what is His—our lives, our obedience, and our very selves.
WE PRAY: Lord, when I’m not sure what to do, show me Your way. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Have you ever had to choose between God’s will and that of an authority?
- If so, how did it go?
- In what ways did Jesus acknowledge human authority? In what ways did He put God first?
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