I’m told to submit. I’m told that this choice indeed is sovereign. In the grand scheme of things, I know all too well that “no plan of God’s can be thwarted; when He acts, no one can reverse it; no one can hold back His hand or bring Him to account for His actions. God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, and works out every event to bring about the accomplishment of His will.” But, “such a bare unqualified statement of the sovereignty of God would terrify us if that were all we knew about God. But God is not only sovereign, He is perfect in love and infinite in wisdom.”³ Now that indeed is, comforting.

There’s a lot going on in the social media space in the aftermath of the election results. Many jubilant, some sceptical, some fearful, some angry, the others simply confused or shocked. Barely a few days post-results, there is news of cold blooded murder of an aide of a ruling minister, shooting of a roadside vendor who just happened to have a Muslim name, merciless flogging for alleged possession of beef, thrashing of Dalits and Adivasis and the appalling list goes on. Painful even to complete the list. As a proud law honouring native of democratic India, I’m struggling to understand my role, responsibility and reaction to some of these recent incidents in the light of what the Good Book recommends as required from its faithful.

Romans 13:1-7 is a classic passage that shows up in such contexts;

“¹Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. ² So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. ³ For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. ⁴ The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. ⁵ So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

⁶ Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. 

⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. (emphasis mine)

There is a lot to process here;

1. Submit to authority
2. All authority is God given
3. Don’t rebel against authority
4. It amounts to rebelling against God
5. The rebels would be punished
6. Do what is right to be fear-free of and honoured by authorities
7. God appoints authorities for our good
8. Their purpose is to punish the wrongdoers and reward the right ones
9. Submit, therefore, not out of fear alone but also to keep a clear conscience
10. Pay taxes, government fees
11. Respect and honour those in authority

Paul doesn’t mince words and calls us to “SUBMIT” and that really chokes me! He qualifies it by appealing to God’s Sovereignty over “all authority”, he goes on to say that the one who rebels against God-sanctioned “human authority” rebels against God. In my reading, by now I’m morbidly suffocating! As I scamper on half-unconscious, there is a strange waft of refreshing air that comes to my rescue. Paul writes that the authorities are there in place to reward the right and to punish the wrong and therefore those that are on the right need fear none. How I wish this were indeed true today, at least for the most part. Perhaps, what he’s alluding to is the general way things ought to be. But it surely is not the case, as we look around. Rewarding the right and punishing the wrong? Even if it were so, right and wrong by whose definition?

Paul gets specific – taxes and government fees, respect and honour, sure, by all means. But what when “God’s Sanctioned Leader(s)” demand action or allegiance contrary to “God-Sanctioned Precepts”? What are we to choose? The demand for “submission” therefore emerges to be relative and not absolute⁴, like we often assume, as we interact with this passage at a cursory level.

Scripture validates scripture. As I turn to explore the whole counsel of God in this matter – I’m reminded of Moses’ response to oppression; Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s allegiance to a ‘higher law’ against an ill-advised politically-charged edict that opposed it. Closer home, Jesus’ counter-cultural resolve and resilience to initiate and advance the Kingdom of God against its legalistic promulgators; The early Church’s rigour, tenacity, grit and courage to articulate their passionate conviction and chorus “We must obey God rather than men.”(Acts 5:29) in the thick of fierce persecution amply educates and speaks into our context today, not only in India but across the globe.

Another crucial distinction that we overlook while thinking through the idea of “submission to authorities” is the contextual nuance regarding the type of government/governance between then and today. Today, we are a Democracy – of the people, by the people, for the people – unlike the Autocracy of Romans 13. The pulse, potential, tenacity, triumph and conscience of a true Democracy heavily weigh much in the hands of a respectful, responsible and righteous opposition.

So as an Indian Christian, I’m not just called to passively ‘submit’ but to actively engage, respectfully reason and graciously challenge “God-appointed leaders” to lead our land and her people in “God-appointed ways” to flourish under God’s loving providence.

May God help us.

Jai Hind⁵