Good morning, Mr. Phelps. Your submission, should you decide to accept it, is to obey the authorities in your life, respect them and cooperate in every way you can. They may be neither right nor righteous, but you must still recognize that God put them in positions of power and they serve as His agents. Should you disavow all knowledge of God’s instructions and fail in this submission, it is quite likely you will self destruct.
Do you have a comment or question about this series? We’d love to hear from you! You must first create a profile and login before you can post (click "login" or "register" below). Then join the discussion by clicking "add comment" or replying to an existing discussion stream. Please keep comments clean.
The influence of globalization on submission
This recent series has reminded me of an interview with Sir Jeremy Greenstock on the Charlie Rose program I watched accidentally on 7/10/08. He made the point that through globalization the individual has become more powerful, or as some may classify it as “empowered”. Over time, government power has slowly shifted from a central figure to individuals. The main issue Greenstock sees with this shift is that no one is holding the individual accountable for the use of that power.
And in my opinion, if all power and decisions are influenced directly by individuals, then no one’s really taking leadership. I don’t think this has happened yet, but our culture is one where the power of the individual is emphasized. For example, some government-elected administrations rely on opinion polls to help drive policy; if someone wants a law passed, they write their congressman, or more likely, they pay a PAC to do it for them; if someone doesn’t like a law, they dispute it in court; if they don’t like the court’s decision, they can appeal it until it gets overturned.
If the global Church were to exercise our responsibility as Christians to submit to these authorities and lead through that example, what would that culture look like?
Marc Thames
Submission
The “Dirty Words” of Leadership series has been so beneficial to me. I was especially intrigued by the 9/28 and 10/5 sermons that addressed the “S” and”O” words. I find it difficult to explain the biblical idea of submission to others. Now, I appreciate having the language to use to provide others with a more positive view of obedience/submission. This Sunday’s message should round out my arsenal of words to present, what I think can be, a difficult concept. So, thanks Pastor Chip for your effort to share this timely information.