Follow the Leader

You know what I decided last night as I was watching my first grader play at a boy scout social? We have a problem in our society--an authority problem in that no one wants to follow the leader any more. Here’s why that authority thing hit me. The cub master was attempting to corral the scouts by numbering them off for game stations. There were probably twenty adults standing there watching him. And thinking I know it all, I whispered to my husband; “Why’s he doing it that way it’s not going to work.”

My husband’s response? “Just let the Cub Master do his thing; he’ll get it figured out.” Now, it’s probably important to tell you that my husband is in a management position and has been for ten years. He knows what it’s like to be at the top--that it is, indeed, lonely. No matter what you do there’s always going to be people who disagree with you, and consequently, don’t like you.  

I took his advice to heart. ‘Yea,’ I thought to myself, ‘this guy is the den master’ and I need to respect that. That little thought led me to this great title, Follow the Leader. When you stop and think about it, how many of us really do that anymore. Whether we’re talking about the president, a teacher, a mayor, or your boss, we all at times have a beef with people in authority positions. And, let’s be honest, it’s because we figure we can do it better.

Back to the scouting picnic. I was in charge of one of the games. While I was handling it the best I knew how, another parent came over and began to talk over me.  Maybe he didn’t like the way I was running the game. Maybe he thought his way was better. Or maybe, he was just trying to be helpful. Regardless, I thought to myself, ‘Look buddy, I volunteered to lead this game, if you think you could have done it better than why didn’t you volunteer?

Again, it got me to thinking about this issue of respect. When I was in grade school, a Christian School, we learned the Ten Commandments. Believe it or not there is a commandment regarding this very topic. It goes something like this, “Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you, and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” It was in that commandment that we learned it was important to honor not only our parents, but other people in positions of authority over us; teachers, police officers, teachers, governing bodies, teachers and, well, you get the gist.

 Romans 13:1 Submission to the Authorities

 

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (ESV)

Wow. That’s a pretty big statement, isn’t it? There is no authority except from God. Whether we agree with them or not, whether they’re doing a good job or not—God decides who will rise and who will fall. It’s His job to judge, not ours. 

So the question might be what do you do with a leader who is pure evil or may be running our society into the ground? You do what you should for any enemy of yours; you pray for them. 

Titus 3:1-2 Pray for All People

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (ESV)

 

God spells it out pretty clearly in the above verses, ‘Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities. Even the ones we hate? Yes. 

God instituted authority. He wants us to pray for our leaders. Not bash them. Not seethe over every single thing they are doing wrong. But pray with faith, patience, and hope so we can live godly and peaceful lives. 

There you have it. Not so popular I know. But last time I checked we weren’t called to be popular, we were called to do the right thing--the unexpected thing; pray for our leaders and other authorities, and trust God to do the rest.