Authority comes from God; this, of course, is the best, the purest, kind of authority, the kind which springs naturally from God's true capacity as Creator and Sustainer, Who knows the nature of His creature more intimately than is even possible for the mind of the creature itself. That it is still possible to reject even this most basic and natural authority is shown from the Fall of Lucifer. This primordial fall spread outward to encompass, we are told, one third of the Host of Heaven, and then to Earth to involve Mankind itself in this irrational rebellion against the root of its own Being. Talk about sawing off the branch you're sitting on!
Every true authority is an extension of God's authority; we are told by the Apostle that our governing authorities are put in place by God. I take this to mean not that each particular political authority is personally appointed by God as His Regent; certainly there have been very bad kings, and even rulers that it is right not to follow, but that the principle of governing authority is a godly principle, for order, and not chaos, is of the nature of God.
That the strong rule the weak is a principle of natural authority; nowhere are we told to resist an established political order just because it is maintained by strength and not on democratic principles, or some previously established right. The strength to rule is itself given by God, and can be taken away by Him as well. The one who submits to authority is in a high moral position; it is by this obedience, this triumph over the selfish will that we all have, that makes every person wish to assert his own will over that of his brother, that social harmony is made possible. He who exercises authority must take care, for he is always under temptation to use this power capriciously, in a self-aggrandizing way, and so corrupt his will and engender social injustice. He will be judged for the use he makes of his authority, but it is equally damning for one who has authority, either by nature or position, to refuse to exercise it, because this breeds anarchy. There cannot be order without authority, there cannot be harmony either in home or society without order; without concord, there can never be peace, that Shalom the scripture speaks of which is simply the overflowing of every spiritual and material blessing. The possibility of this is what we rob ourselves of by our childish rebellion. Authority can, of course, be abused, and must sometimes be resisted. This does not abrogate the principle of authority. Those who choose to resist authority should do so with the willingness to suffer some form, at least, of martyrdom; this is what keeps the pestilential race of Activists from infecting the Body Politic.
Authority should really only be disobeyed when we are obeying Higher Authority; in Modernity, we resist authority because we are Egoists, and live under a political system which perfectly models the Luciferian revolt in all respects. This principle of Revolt affects our attitude toward government in all its aspects, in nation, state, and local community; there are many processes in all these levels which function inefficiently or not at all, just because people will not be governed. There are social costs to this inefficiency that are none the less real because they are not readily apparent. The same social disease that affects our attitudes toward authority in government extends itself also to personal relations in the Family; to Husband and Wife, Parent and Child, but those are subjects for later posts.
Every true authority is an extension of God's authority; we are told by the Apostle that our governing authorities are put in place by God. I take this to mean not that each particular political authority is personally appointed by God as His Regent; certainly there have been very bad kings, and even rulers that it is right not to follow, but that the principle of governing authority is a godly principle, for order, and not chaos, is of the nature of God.
That the strong rule the weak is a principle of natural authority; nowhere are we told to resist an established political order just because it is maintained by strength and not on democratic principles, or some previously established right. The strength to rule is itself given by God, and can be taken away by Him as well. The one who submits to authority is in a high moral position; it is by this obedience, this triumph over the selfish will that we all have, that makes every person wish to assert his own will over that of his brother, that social harmony is made possible. He who exercises authority must take care, for he is always under temptation to use this power capriciously, in a self-aggrandizing way, and so corrupt his will and engender social injustice. He will be judged for the use he makes of his authority, but it is equally damning for one who has authority, either by nature or position, to refuse to exercise it, because this breeds anarchy. There cannot be order without authority, there cannot be harmony either in home or society without order; without concord, there can never be peace, that Shalom the scripture speaks of which is simply the overflowing of every spiritual and material blessing. The possibility of this is what we rob ourselves of by our childish rebellion. Authority can, of course, be abused, and must sometimes be resisted. This does not abrogate the principle of authority. Those who choose to resist authority should do so with the willingness to suffer some form, at least, of martyrdom; this is what keeps the pestilential race of Activists from infecting the Body Politic.
Authority should really only be disobeyed when we are obeying Higher Authority; in Modernity, we resist authority because we are Egoists, and live under a political system which perfectly models the Luciferian revolt in all respects. This principle of Revolt affects our attitude toward government in all its aspects, in nation, state, and local community; there are many processes in all these levels which function inefficiently or not at all, just because people will not be governed. There are social costs to this inefficiency that are none the less real because they are not readily apparent. The same social disease that affects our attitudes toward authority in government extends itself also to personal relations in the Family; to Husband and Wife, Parent and Child, but those are subjects for later posts.
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