Submit.

By: Monique Smith

Disclaimer: This is to be taken literally

Romans 13

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. ² So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

God places people in authority in every area. Even if you feel they aren’t effective or if they aren’t leading properly, they still are placed there by God. By being rebellious and not following suit, you are blatantly disobeying God’s command and are bringing unnecessary judgment on yourself.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. ⁴ For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

Think about it, people in authority, in most cases, don’t bother you if you’re doing good, only if you’re doing bad. For example: Police officers. If you don’t want to be afraid of authority, do good and y’all will be on good terms. We have rules and government in place to produce good things or provide the safest place for us. It’s God’s mechanism to keep us in the right lane and will also bring wrath and punishment to disobedience. God hates disobedience, don’t you?

⁵ Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience. ⁶ And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. ⁷ Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

In obeying these rules though, don’t do it out of fear or dislike of punishment, but do it because of the love you have for God. Do all that is required of you. If you owe someone, pay them. Don’t owe anyone anything except love. (This is a word to me as well considering my credit cards. I need to keep the balances at $0 and limit the number of credit cards I have in my possession so that I will be able to live according to this scripture. I don’t want to be the borrower! I’m the lender!).

Love, Our Primary Duty

⁸ Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments:

Do not commit adultery;
do not murder;
do not steal;
do not covet;

and whatever other commandment—all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself.

¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

Love is the key to the puzzle. You need that to solve any problem. To fulfill your purpose and God’s law, you need to love.

Put On Christ

¹¹ Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light¹³ Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.

Wake up, get up, get up, get up! Don’t you see that “its getting late in tha e’ning?! The world is coming to an end. Put away disobedience and other deeds of the enemy. Walk in the daylight and in the way of the Lord at all times and put on Jesus. Make no plans to satisfy the flesh. Point. Blank. Period.

Prayer: God, I love you! Help me in all aspects of my life! In Jesus name I pray! Amen.