What we should/should not be thinking of

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (World English Bible)

That passage indicates that we should think about, and consider, the good in God's world, and the good that other people do. And it also indicates that we should avoid thinking of thangs that aren't good, in the society we live in.

That's hard. I'm something of a news junkie. CBS has been featuring Steve Hartman, reporting on the good in people, every week, for years. The network also reports on the good, nearly every evening. NBC has done the same thing, weekly, even explicitly reminding us that they are telling us about the good that people do.  I don't watch ABC or Fox evening news. Perhaps they, too, are highlighting good things. I hope so. Local TV news seems to be a morass of shootings, politicians lying, and people being horribly mistreated. There's an old saying, I think about newspapers (whatever they were!) "If it bleeds, it leads." There is plenty of bleeding in the world, but we emphasize it way too much.

Thanks for reading. I hope this post has done you some good. 

The Magi disobeyed the government

The Bible indicates that we should generally respect and obey governmental authority: 

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, 4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. 5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, continually doing this very thing. 7 Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (World English Bible, public domain) 

The Magi, however, disobeyed: 

Matthew 2:7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way. 

An exception to obedience to government.

Thanks for reading!

Added January 15, 2026: Colossians 2:9-10 points out that God is above all human governments:

Colossians 2:9 For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily, 10 and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power. (World English Bible)

Counted worthy

 I was struck, not for the first time, with the phrase, "counted worthy," in the New Testament. Here, from the World English Bible, are the occurrences of that phrase: 

Luke 21:36 Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 

Acts 5:41 They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name. 

2 Thessalonians 1:5 This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer. 

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. 

Hebrews 3:3 For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, because he who built the house has more honor than the house. 

I note that, in all five of these cases, it seems to be God, in the last case God the Father, but, probably, in the other cases, God the Trinity who is being counted worthy. What humans think about our situations don't matter much. In the last case, it is God the Son who is counted worthy of more glory than Moses.

Another thought. It isn't enough to try to serve God in our own strength, but it is enough to serve God in His strength, no matter what is accomplished. We can't receive greater reward than being reckoned as appropriate -- counted worthy -- to receive His favor and affirmation! 

Thanks for reading. May you and I be counted worthy of honor, by Him who counts infinitely more than any human entity.

Honor the King

 

Honor the King

I’ve done it myself. I’ve ridiculed a person in authority. Based on these verses, and the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12 (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”) such behavior is wrong. We aren’t certain about the time when Peter wrote, telling his readers to “Honor the King.” (Some translations say “Honor the Emperor.”) But, no matter which king or emperor he had in mind, he wasn’t talking about a political authority who was friendly to Christians. Some Roman Caesars expected to be worshiped as if they were Gods. They presided over an occupied Israel. Roman soldiers had officiated at the crucifixion of Jesus. Some of the Caesars had Christians executed in various humiliating and painful ways. Some of them forced Christians to worship in secret. Peter might have been referring to Nero, who is said to have used Christians as living torches at his parties. These were not nice people. Yet Peter said to honor and respect them. So did Paul.

Jesus said, in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount, that we shouldn’t call other people fools, or equivalent words, and there may be a punishment, the most serious one, if we disobey this.

So what does this mean for today? It seems to me that it means just what it did to the early Christians. We are to honor and respect the President, the Supreme Court, the local school board, the mayor, and people in other such positions. It was wrong for a popular cartoonist to present President George W. Bush as a bedraggled, empty helmet. It is wrong to produce, or share, caricatures of President Obama as a monkey, or to call him an idiot. Those are just examples of wrong behavior. There are a lot more. You don’t have to go far on Facebook to find some related to President Obama. You won’t have to go far to find Internet and TV material ridiculing and dishonoring whoever becomes our next President, from whichever party.

What about the coaches and players and cheerleaders and fans of my team’s most despised rival? Do I respect them, do I honor them, do I acknowledge their skill and intelligence? I should treat them with respect, too.

Do we have to root for the other side? No. Do we have to agree with everything an elected official does? No. Do we have to vote for them? No. Can we disobey them? Yes, if it’s done respectfully, giving due honor, and for a sound Biblical reason.

Thanks for reading.

 

Poster on giving God glory, based on The Imitation of Christ

 

Based on The Imitation of Christ, a work by Thomas à Kempis, 15th century, hence public domain.

"Truly all human glory, all temporal honor, all worldly exultation, compared to Your eternal glory, is but vanity and folly. O God, my Truth and my Mercy, Blessed Trinity, to You alone be all praise, honor, power, and glory for ever and for ever. Amen." Indeed.

Thanks for looking. I used Coolors to generate the color scheme used in this poster.

Christianity and the Presidency, part two

In a previous post, I argued that the New Testament teaches, unambiguously, that President Obama and other leaders deserve our respect and should be honored for their service. I wish to consider some other issues.

1) Does respect and honor mean that you, or I, can't vote against a sitting President or other elected official? I don't think so. There may be important issues where we disagree with an elected official, and that would be a legitimate reason to vote against that person. This is especially true if the official takes some unbiblical position, such as persecution of Christians. Paul stood up to various authorities occasionally, including a high priest and Peter.

2) Does the Bible require that we honor candidates for office in the same way as a current official? I don't think so. I think we should respect, and have a certain degree of admiration, for anyone putting themselves on the line to run for President, City Council, or any other office. Without such candidates, our system wouldn't work. But respect and admiration don't need to go so far for a candidate as for someone who holds office. There are candidates who run for frivolous reasons, including two professional comedians who have, sort of, run for President within my lifetime. There are some candidates for local office who seem to run out of spite, or even so that they can financially advantage themselves through the office sought. There are candidates who are not well qualified. In the 2010 election in South Carolina, the Democratic candidate for U. S. Senate was not well qualified for the office, and even some officials of his party admitted that he wasn't. For the more important offices, at least, in the early stages, candidates may not have had their past life examined thoroughly. This seems to have been true of Herman Cain, who was for a time a candidate for President this year. I can admire Mr. Cain for his willingness to run, but I don't have to admire him about everything, if the allegations of sexual harassment, or worse, that were placed against him, are true.

3) Now, a different sort of side issue. The previous post referred to some disrespect of President Obama, relating to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. Some people aren't giving the President any credit. I personally believe that he deserves some of the credit, if credit is the right word for assassinating someone on the territory of another country*. He at least allowed this to take place, however else he may have been involved, and he appointed Leon Panetta as CIA director. It is true that the President didn't gather the intelligence, plan the mission, run communications, transport the assassins, or pull the trigger. However, if he gets no credit for this, by the same logic, it would seem that he shouldn't be blamed for some of our problems with the economy. He wasn't a greedy banker, he didn't take on mortgages that he couldn't pay for, etc.

4) On the other side, it is also possible for the administration to claim too much credit, or to inflate the importance of the death of Bin Laden, and, no doubt, there has been and will be some of that. That shouldn't be done, either.

*Some Christians are pacifists, and believe that no war is justified, and, I suppose, don't believe that killing someone in cold blood in a sovereign nation that we aren't at war with is justified, either. Other Christians believe that some wars are justified, and some are not. At least some of them believe that the killing of Bin Laden was justified. See here for a discussion of this subject.

Thanks for reading.

Christianity and the Presidency

Who gets credit for the Osama Bin Laden's death? Some recent chatter about this has been contrary to the Bible. It has gone beyond saying President Obama was not responsible. I have seen -- more than once -- a comparison of the President to a fast food company's clown. I'm afraid that that is going too far. Disagreeing with a political leader is one thing. Mocking and disrespecting is different. It's unbiblical:

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same, 4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. 5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing. 7 Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: 2 for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.

1 Peter 2:13 Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme; 14 or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to those who do well. 15 For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Remember that the head of the government referred to here was the Roman emperor. Rome had conquered many nations, including the Jewish homeland, and was no special friend to Christianity. It was Roman soldiers who put Christ to death. Roman emperors persecuted Christianity, having Christians killed in various unpleasant ways. (Nero was most likely the emperor during the time when Romans, 1 Timothy and 2 Peter were written.) Nonetheless, Peter and Paul expected that Christians would honor their emperor, and Peter that we would be subject to the authorities, whether Emperor, or lesser officials.

President Obama didn't personally gather the intelligence, plan the mission, or go into Pakistan, and it is possible to say that this objective was achieved in spite of President Obama, not because of him. But even such a claim should still be done with respect for the office, and the person who holds it, as I understand the Bible. I hope to post tomorrow on some related side issues, but my main concern in this post is that I won't violate the Bible's teachings about honoring rulers.

In a subsequent post, I considered some side issues related to this.

Thanks for reading. For more on the subject of Christianity and government, see this previous post. For musings about some apparent failings of the Obama administration, including the attack on the embassy at Benghazi, see here.

What the New Testament says about government, including taxes

Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Romans 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.

1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Peter 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.

(All scripture quoted from the ESV)

So. We should pray for our government, pay taxes, and submit to governmental authority, even honor it. No doubt there may be exceptions -- Paul sometimes stood up to governmental authority, and perhaps there is room to question unjust or excessive taxes -- but generally, we should pray for our government and those in authority, submit to them, honor them, obey the laws, and pay our taxes.

Remember that the government referred to here was the Roman empire, a mostly pagan dictatorship, which had conquered many nations, including the Jewish homeland, and was hardly a friend to Christianity. It was Roman soldiers who put Christ to death.

Thanks for reading.

* * * *

Added December 4th, 2008: Another blogger posted on a related statement in the Old Testament, which I then posted about, here (including giving credit to the other blogger).

Added May 5, 2012: I posted a reaction to a number of persons who consider themselves Christians, and they most likely are, who seem to feel free to not only criticize, but mock, current President Obama.