This morning I am reading from Peter's first letter and ran across a very interesting statement that I want to unpack, for my own understanding. Here are the verses - 1 Peter 2:13-17 NASB:
[13] "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, [14] or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. [15] For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. [16] Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. [17] Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king."
The whole paragraph is a somewhat challenging thesis on how we, as Christian's should live, especially if you are living under a ruler or government that is against Christianity, as Peter was when He wrote this, a few years before his death under Nero. However, it is verse 16 that is my focus, and I am using the NASB translation as the NIV doesn't quite translate it the same, and this NASB is closer to the Greek.
Peter, in laying the groundwork, has established that we as Christian's are essentially foreigners in any country in which we live, for we are part of a chosen race, a people set apart (1 Peter 2:9) and as such we are free, or one could say subject to a higher government than that which live under. Peter most likely wrote this during the reign of Nero, and his encouragement to his fellow Christians to submit themselves to the king and governors for the Lord's sake seems surprising. He even goes so far as to say that this is essentially the will of God. Peter is urging us to freely choose to do so, to submit ourselves to a lesser government than the Kingdom of God, for the sake of the Lord, as an act of freedom! It just seems almost counter-intuitive.
Peter then goes on and urges us to become bondslaves to the God, once again freely choosing to do so. This is really what made me stop and think. We, as brothers and sisters, fellow co-heirs with Christ, sons and daughters of the Father, set free from the bonds of the Law, sin and death, are encouraged to freely embrace binding ourselves once more, this time to God. As I have been reflecting on this strange bit it occurred to me that the key to understanding this all is relationship!
The Greek word Peter uses is doulos, and it is defined:
1) a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
a) a slave
b) metaph., one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men
c) devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests
2) a servant, attendant
While we don't really have this type of position any more, at least here in America, there is some need to understand Peter's use here. The fact that he is urging those who are free to take up these bonds, indicates that his use would fit 1b or 1c in the definition above. This is something we are encourage to do, out of our own freedom, choosing to put someone else's interests and needs before our own, in this case the Lord.
Going back to my reflections that this is all connected to relationship, helps me here. I have no problem embracing the binding of myself to someone I love, and have chosen to do so within the context of the bonds of matrimony. I love my sweetheart, and gladly embrace a life of being bound to her, looking to her needs and interests, often before my own, serving her in love. I was free, but then out of love, I committed myself to being bound together with her for the rest of my life! I choose daily to continue to embrace this life, and I wouldn't have it any other way!
This seems to me to be what Peter is discussing here, and in that context I have freely bound myself to the Lord, who I love. I have freely chosen to embrace a life submitted to His will, purpose and plans. I have worked to understand and embrace His purposes, leading and words in my life. Again, this is out of love and relationship, not out of a sense of duty or religion. It is a lifestyle I choose to embrace, every day.
So this all seems right and good, until Peter adds it into context of submitting myself to the governing authorities, not that I am of a rebellious spirit or anything, it just doesn't seem to be included in the same relational level. Peter, to make sure we understand his point, repeats himself and concludes this paragraph with "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." I wonder if this includes my words and thoughts concerning my present governing authorities? Ouch!
As I now look at these verses, it seems to me that Peter is raising the bar for how we as Christians should respond to government. We could take a higher than thou approach, but instead, it seems to me, he is encouraging us to honor and respect, in words and actions, our governing authorities, as we would those we are committed to serving out of love. This really makes me think about my own attitudes and thoughts concerning my local, state and national governing authorities, especially in times where I don't agree with the thinking, policies or plans.
Lord, I certainly don't grasp the fullness of this all, but I do see in Peter's words a challenge to change some of my ways of thinking and speaking about our government. I don't fully understand how this fits fully into Your will and purpose, but for Your sake, for love of You, I will choose to endeavor to embrace Your word, breathed through Peter. I know well that there is more to Your plans and purposes than I could ever imagine, so I will choose Your ways over mine.
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