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13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22"He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth."[a] 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (NIV)
Footnotes:
1 Peter 2:22 Isaiah 53:9
taken from www.biblegateway.com
Ok, I admit it, I have a little problem with authority. It's not that I don't like the people, and I definitely want to keep them happy, I just usually think that they are wrong. So frequently I'll listen to their directions then I'll work hard to come up with a politically appropriate way to get them to take a different approach.
One of my best bosses (and thankfully he was one of my first), was used to the 'new kid syndrome' and he would often let me head off in the direction I thought was best. Well, it wouldn't be too long before my enthusiastic but uninformed plan would flop. When I'd go back to admit defeat, he would gently explain what would have made his approach, based on 30 years of experience, the better way.
While I still don't like to be told what to do, I've learned to respect the fact that each leader has been put into his or her position for a reason. While sometimes it's hard to find, each boss has always some skill or experience that I can learn from. I will still speak up when I see something that just doesn't seem right, I am more willing to try it someone else's way (at least for a while!).
Unfortunately, I'm the same way with God. I KNOW his way is best and he knows all things, but can't he see that sometimes his way doesn't make sense? I'm sure my life would be easier if I could just learn to do everything his way without trying to take control...and I'm better at this than I was. But I have a long way to go. How about you?
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