our need to respect

You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Exodus 22:28

RESPECT. God desires that we respect His rule over us. God’s rule is expressed through His direct, sovereign control over the events of all our lives. We should not react in displeasure when our lives go in directions we do not like. God has placed all the world under His authority. It is true worship to trust God at all times... not just the easy times, and not just when life goes as we want it to go.

God also expects that this respect for authority extends to human government. We are to respect God’s sovereignty even when we get rulers we aren’t particularly happy with. But oh how inflammatory politics leads us to “curse a ruler” so easily! In fact, it is part of the daily experience for any person with a social media feed to witness this sort of disappointing activity incessantly. It used to be just an election year experience. But now it is a continuous, venom-filled, poisonous drip of disrespect that ultimately disobeys this command from God. Rulers of every stripe: conservative, liberal, or libertarian, are cursed by meme and rant every second of every day. Our society has little to no respect for authority and no trust that God controls earthly leaders.

God gave this warning on respect to Moses right after a lengthy section of laws governing human interactions and protecting Israel’s most vulnerable populations (Exodus 22:21-27). These laws include: 1) treatment of resident aliens, 2) care for widows and orphans, and 3) lending laws protecting the poor from extortion. There are severe penalties for misusing any of these people groups. The sovereign God cares for all people... especially the ones other people tend to neglect. He will be respected for His unconditional care for all. He expects the rulers of people to share this concern and He will hold those accountable who neglect them.

Because God is no respecter of persons, we will respect Him. We will also respect those who lead us since God has appointed them by His sovereign rule. And Jesus Who died for all people everywhere shows us how to care about all people in the way that He does so that we can truly respect the world that Jesus and God the Father dearly love.