Welcome to “Athlos” a weekly blog which examines pillars of personal excellence and regularly brings together the worlds of Christian spirituality and sport.
Respect them
“Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad.”-Romans 13: 2-3
Obey them
You don’t have to like them, but you must obey them.
This is a lesson we learned as children when it came to persons in authority. It could be parents, principals or police officers, we were taught to respect our leaders. Yet, as adults, we tend to throw that philosophy out of the window. In our opinion, we are now independent people, experienced, wise and able to take on the world.
Nothing is wrong with that confidence as long as we remember our pledge to obedience. What do I mean? Romans 13 above calls for a healthy and even holy submission to those who rule. The immediate context of Paul’s admonition was the governing authorities of the day. They were God’s agents to maintain peace and order. It did not matter whether they themselves followed God, He allowed them to be in such influential positions.
This reminds me of an increasingly concerning trend in modern-day football for players to aggressively approach referees when decisions do not go their way. Just last weekend, one player in an FA Cup match literally shoved the presiding official and even after being shown a red card was still in the referee’s face in an intimidating manner. From where I sit, the Romans 13 principle applies to sport and many other contexts. The issue is respectful obedience which is rooted in humility.
How have you been dealing with authority figures recently? What would your boss, school teacher or spiritual elders say about your attitude to those who rule over you? Leaders are imperfect and they can be questioned, but our own spirit must not be contentious. In the face of divine providence, obedience brings confidence.
Trust them
Let us not forget that when we trust those who, by grace, are in charge we are ultimately trusting God himself.
If you were inspired by this blog, please consider sharing it with one other person today. To learn more about these and other related themes that promote the cultivation of an integrated inner self, read UNBEATABLE! which is available on Amazon in print and as an e-book.
