| “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made … for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). |
| “The powers that be are ordained of God … for he is the minister of God to thee for good” (Romans 13:1, 4). |
| It was after Noah came out of the ark that God started government in the world, and it has existed ever since. We ought to be thankful for it, as before the flood, when there was no government, the Bible says that “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). If we did not have any government, it would be that way today. |
| I remember about fifty years ago when the police went on strike in a large eastern Canadian city. The strike lasted only for about twenty-four hours, but a lot of crime was committed during that day. By the end of the strike, six banks had been robbed, a hundred shops had been looted, twelve fires had been set, forty carloads of storefront glass had been broken, and three million dollars in property damage had occurred. The government finally had to call in the army and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to restore order. |
| Perhaps we sometimes complain that our government is unjust, or perhaps wastes money and does not do a good job, but in our verses today we are told to pray for them. We are also to give thanks for them, for they keep the world in at least some measure of order and safety. Without government, the world would descend into crime and disorder. |
| Of course there have always been corrupt governments in this world, and in the days when the Apostle Paul wrote today’s verses, the Roman government was very corrupt. The emperors were sometimes wicked men who lived in luxury while others had to pay high taxes to support them in their extravagant lifestyle. Yet the Lord wants us to honor those in authority, and to pray for them. Let us remember to do that. |
