Romans 13

Submission. We don't really like that word because it opposes our fleshly desires. It opposes our pride. Satan was kicked out of Heaven because he wouldn't submit. His pride caused him to lose his place and settle for a lesser kingdom (until the time God ultimately knocks him out). Many times I have to battle my own pride. But Paul says we are to submit to the authorities because they were established by God. We do this in order to avoid punishment but also because our conscience confirms it.

Back in Romans 12, it talks about love. Being joyful, living in peace with everyone, and not repaying evil. It's not talking about being a doormat. There are a few occasions when people are called to disobey the government in order to submit to God. Very few. Because of men like Martin Luther King Jr. and George Washington, we live in a different world today.

We are called to love one another. But sometimes love is misunderstood. It's not a feeling. Love is an action. It's something we have to put on daily. (Sometimes I have to remind myself hourly.) There is a difference between being nice and being loving. For example, if your friend comes out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to their shoe, the nice thing would be to not say anything at all. You don't want to hurt their feelings. However, the loving thing would be to tell them. It might be slightly embarrassing hearing it from you. But you save them the added embarrassment of hearing it from a stranger. When a friend sins, you love them into repentance. You don't just ignore it, but you don't condemn them either. Often we hear, "Love your neighbor as yourself." But the next verse clarifies what that means, "Love does no harm to its neighbor."

We are to understand the present time and need. Our lives will be over in the blink of an eye. And at the end of this life we will stand before a holy and mighty God, and give an account of everything we've done. This should motivate us to think of the long-term benefits of following Christ. However, there are many who are entangled with sins that have only short-term effects. The Bible doesn't give a list of all the individual sins that people have created for themselves. And because there are vague lines of some sin, often we get as close to the line as we can without stepping over. My personal measuring stick is this question, "Am I hurting the heart of God?" If the answer is yes, then I need to change my actions.

"Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." ~Romans 13:14