Saint Paul says that „Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” because our first aim is to perfection ourselves and not to fight with others, so for this we need to have a stable and peaceful environment.
Saint Paul says, “Let everyone be subject to
the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has
established.” Because our first aim is to perfection ourselves, and not to
fight with others, so for this we need to have a stable and peaceful
environment.
Saint Paul has a good deal to say on this
matter in his other epistles also, placing subjects under their rulers in the
same way that household servants are under their masters. He does this to show
that Christ did not introduce his laws for the purpose of undermining the state
but, rather, so that it should be better governed.
He does not speak about individual rulers but
about the principle of authority itself—for it is the work of God’s wisdom that
there should be rulers and ruled, and that things should not just lapse into
anarchy, with people swaying like waves from one extreme to the other.
However, we must stress the fact that, in our
discussion, a nation can take two paths: one which goes towards God that
is towards humbleness, peace and happiness and another path which goes towards
worldly pleasures, various forms of hatred (rivalry, denigration etc.),
exploitation, pressure, lies, etc.
If a nation takes the first path, then God
gives a leading structure which will help the people on this path. If a nation
takes the second path, then God gives harsh authorities who will concretely
show, through their behavior, toward the people that the road which they took
is wrong, and they must humble themselves and pray for help.
The Byzantine Emperor (Flavius) Phocas was
very brutal, incompetent and unjust. Saint Anastasios of Persia prayed
intensely, “Lord Jesus Christ, why did You gave us such a ruler?”
He prayed unceasingly with a lot of tears and
fasting, until the living Christ appeared in front of him. Then Saint
Anastasios kneeled in front of Him and said, “My Lord, why?”
Then, the King of kings replied, “I didn’t
found someone worse.”
We always receive the rulers we deserve. Let
us continuously repent if we want to have a serene life.
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