Circumventing Authority

2 Chronicles 16:9 " for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to sow Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

Returning home form a great breakfast with the older three kids today, I passed several oncoming cars that flashed their lights at me. Everyone knows that means "cop ahead, slow down". As I drove on I thought about how odd it is that we all think we are helping each other "outsmart" authority by behaving right when we are in their presence. Ask most preachers and they will tell you that they wished people would stop trying to act perfect around them so they could help minister to their sinful Heart in need of God's grace. That can not happen thought if people are "playing perfect" in front of the pastor. Sadly that occurs every Sunday in churches and no war against sin is fought as the sin is hidden, at least from the pastor.

I have loved the passage from 2 Chronicles above for years, as God used it to squeeze the "hypocritical church goer" out of me. How did He use that verse to change me? Simple. We can slow down temporarily for the cop, we can act put together for the pastor, but God sees the core evil that attacks our souls. God knows if we are obeying Him, or if we are trusting in our abilities to make Him and others think we are. It is as simple as that really.

Proverbs 20:27 says , "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts." Our God knows what is going on in our souls, whether we try to sneak around him or not. The only way that He can change us is if we stop hiding from the His authority and allow Him to shape us. It is just like with the cop. Our problem is not that he is trying to give us a ticket. Our problem is that we are breaking the law and according to Romans 13, we are rebelling against God in the process.

It is only when we truly admit that we are rebels against authority and must submit to it that we can please God. If you want to help me, please don't help me try to circumvent authority, help me submit to it instead. One helps temporarily , but hurts long term. One may seem harmful at first, but has lasting impact for the rest of your life. I'll choose the latter. That choice has been made available to me through the work of Jesus Christ.