Waves of Sin
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
Romans 13:1-2 (NASB)
Have you ever waded into the surf at the beach, and tried to stand against the waves washing over and around you? Or maybe in a swimming pool with a wave machine? Keeping your feet is not easy as the wave frequency and size varies, and sometimes we are literally swept off our feet. This is like life as a Christian in a sinful world, which also comes against us in waves of various sizes.
In recent days the world has been awash with news coverage of a certain incident at the Oscars ceremony, where Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock for onstage comments about Will’s wife. The rights and wrongs of every angle of this incident are being debated everywhere; we even had a discussion from a Biblical standpoint in our Church Men’s Fellowship online forum. And there is the important point made by our pastor; our assessment of such should be from a Biblical point of view. When we are faced with a barrage of sinful waves from social media, we must stand solidly on the Word of God, weighing all according to His Holy Word.
As I watched the news coverage and read some Christian brothers’ thoughts on the incident, I found myself reminded of our scripture today, which clearly says that we must obey the law of our land, for it stands by God’s will. It is worth remembering that our Lord obeyed the law in the payment of taxes to Caesar. Another scripture that came to my mind was:
And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Matthew 26:51-53
Our Lord clearly did not agree with the use of violence in this story; I think it also stands as an important guidepost for how we should behave in public with those who would either insult or assault us. To lift a hand unnecessarily is a to rely on our own humanity, where our trust should be in our Father God in every incidence.
Dear reader, as we watch such events as transpired in Hollywood recently let us not be swept away by the standards of this sinful world. Let us keep our feet fixed to the Word of God and His guiding Holy Spirit, who reminds us of the way of holiness. By this we will be able to stand firm against the sinful waves of this world, as a witness to those around us.
Alan Kearns is a Christian father and grandfather from Scotland. He was raised in the mining villages of Fife and came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior in 1984. A major influence that leads Alan to Jesus was his Christian mum, grandparents and an aunt. Alan writes regular devotionals in his blog Devotional Treasures
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