My wife made a statement a few years ago which it has taken quite some time for me to understand. She said, "Submission is not submission unless you think that the authority to which you are submitting is wrong." I think my first response was, "Well, if the authority is wrong, then how can you submit?" And this is what we think, that somehow authority is to be called into our judgment, and that we have the responsibility to determine when, where, and how we are actually going to submit to authority.
This gets a bit complicated, so let me try to explain. I am currently in a situation where I am under two separate authority figures. One is the law of the country -- in this case, specifically the state. The other is my employer, who has one particular policy which I believe to be illegal and irresponsible. If I comply with the company policy, I am out of step with the authorities. If I comply with the authorities, I will lose my job, and hence my income, and hence my family stability. What do I do? How do I comply and show proper submission to proper authority?
I have to admit that for much of the time of my employment I have lived in a state of resentment. I have argued in my own mind, "This is unfair. It is not right that they should put me in such a position." I have protested out loud; I have made snide and sarcastic comments, oblique statements, veiled complaints, and struggled to maintain a positive attitude in my surroundings -- with very little success, I might add.
This past year, however, I decided upon a new tack. I decided to submit to the immediate authority over me, which is my employer, and I would leave the company for whom I work to be accountable to the law. And I decided that I will just drive; I will not worry about any other consideration. This is what I was hired to do anyway: I was not hired to think, neither was I was not hired to bring the company into compliance with the law, nor was I hired to make any management decisions or authorizations. I was simply hired to drive where they want me to drive and to haul what they instruct me to haul. That is the totality of my responsibility, and that is the limit to my authority.
Surprise, surprise, my attitude was gone! The anger was gone. The frustration was significantly diminished. I actually began to enjoy my job and my surroundings. I began to enjoy working with my co-drivers and fellow employees. It was as if the whole world had changed. This is when I realized something: either my employer will rule over me, or I will try to rule over my employer. Either I will try to rule, to be in charge, to dictate something to somebody, or I will submit and listen and obey and do what I am told at the time that I am told to do so. There does not seem to be any middle ground; it is either usurped authority or submission.
Back to my original statement, which is actually my wife's, which was Elizabeth Elliot's before her. Submission is only truly submission when the authority figure is wrong. When you judge that authority, sit over it in criticism, or try to hold that authority subject to your proclivities, so that in reality you are making the decisions rather than they; that is the position of rebellion, of resistance to the authority. But when you lower yourself and humbly submit to the authority, even if it is wrong, that is when you find peace and fulness of joy. What do you think? I am looking forward to hearing your responses.
If authority is given by God, it can neither be usurped nor lost. Everything given by God is a gift, and He has stated that misused gifts will be taken back. In short, if an Authority is in the moral wrong- it has returned its temporary authority back to God- where it originated. Thus it is our responsiblity to 'be not led astray' even by those given the temporary gift of authority over us by God, and to answer to the highest law applicable, in this case your state. If your company has chosen to violate its own authority, it has relinquished it.
ReplyDeleteFind an occupation where there is no such conflict.
-thisoldman
I would agree wholeheartedly with your post if I lived in a world that is not fallen. However, in this fallen world, we see authority usurped and lost all of the time. If authority that was in the moral wrong automatically lost that authority, then why would the Apostle Peter tell his hearers to submit obey and honor the government. Rome at the time was corrupt. Nero was an egomaniac and downright maniacal; in fact, he was likely insane. Yet, Christians are commanded to obey and to submit, until it came to worship and evangelism, then they were bound to worship and obey God alone.
DeletePeter even tells wives to be obedient to their husbands, even to those who are disobedient and froward (KJV meaning moving away from God). Other translations use the word harsh. The Greek word could even mean caustic or mean. Yet, the authority is upheld by the Scripture; hence, God knows that authority will be abused and perverted in a fallen society, and yet it still stands, and one is still to be found in submission.
As to finding a different job, I have thought about doing so dozens of times. That option is still on the table. But til I do so, I still have to comply with the authority over me, even if that authority is wrong.
I believe this is true in most cases. Are parents always going to be right? No. It is impossible. Do children still have to obey? Yes, unless the command give specifically violates the commandment of God. The same goes for husbands and wives. And so it is with citizens and with employees also.
As I have written elsewhere, my wife has pointed out that the only time submission really is difficult is when you know (or think that you know) the authority is wrong. Otherwise, submission is mere agreement. But when you disagree with the authority, then comes the question, do I submit, or do I refuse to based upon my own understanding of what is right and proper at the moment.
I do not believe that we should be sitting in judgment over authority. If I refuse to comply, am I not in actuality exerting my authority over my employer? I can sit in judgment in the sense that I can say that his decisions are wrong -- and I have. But there is a fine line here, for if everyone under authority called their authority figures into question whenever they thought they were wrong, there would be a lot more disputing in the workplace, and not a whole lot of work would get done.
I will continue to think about what you have posted however. Perhaps I am wrong here; and to be honest, perhaps quitting my job will end up being inevitable.
I hope it's okay for me to chime in here and discuss your article a little bit!
ReplyDeleteI am curious you say, "I was simply hired to drive where they want me to drive and to haul what they instruct me to haul." How far will you take this logic? I understand I do not know all the facts or details surrounding your story but would you hold to this thinking if your boss was telling you to kill someone? How far does obedience to your employer over obedience to the Law or even God go?