Give All That Is Due But No More

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. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Romans 13:1-7

There is no doubt that we are, all of us, called to follow God and therefore to follow God’s Law. If we claim to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, there is no choice for us but that we follow God’s Law.

It is not an exaggeration to call obedience to God’s Law the foundation of moral and righteous behavior.

If we follow God, we proclaim His authority over us and over our lives. I submit that no person of faith would challenge this notion.

Where does that leave the many layers of human government which impact our daily lives? If we acknowledge God’s supreme authority over us, what authority remains for human government to wield?

This question is particularly relevant now, in the face of recent events. When we have open insurrection in Los Angeles, New York, and elsewhere, we are confronted with the question of whether it is right to defy human government. When we have the particularly abhorrent crime of political murder such as happened in Minnesota, we are confronted with the question of the moral duties of those within human government, and also the question of what consequences should befall those who may fall short in those duties.

We have people decrying the American government as evil. We have people decrying opposition to the American government as evil.

We have people celebrating the authority of the American government. We have people condemning the authority of the American government.

We have people calling for the laws enacted by the American government to be rigorously enforced. We have people calling for the laws enacted by the American government to be studiously ignored.

Who is right in this? Who has the proper apprehension of human government? Who has the right understanding of human laws, and our obligation to follow human laws?

We know from Deuteronomy (17:14-20) that God specifically decreed that any kings of Israel were not only especially called to follow God’s Law, but were to be especially mindful, that they ruled in accordance with God’s Law. Human law and human authority are always subordinate to God’s Law and God’s Authority.

A person with authority—that is, anyone who is in government—who violates God’s Law is therefore guilty of a double sin. He sins by violating God’s Law and he sins again by ignoring the special charge laid upon those in government to be particularly heedful of God’s Law.

We know also from the closing verse of Judges that human government is not necessary in God’s eyes. God’s Law tells us what is right and what is wrong, and if we choose to follow God’s Law what more could we hope to add to that with our own laws? It is as I have said before: When we follow God’s Law, Man’s laws are superfluous; and when we reject God’s Law, Man’s laws are irrelevant.

We know also that God was displeased with the people of Israel when they demanded of Samuel—whom God had established as judge over the people—that they be given a king to govern them “like all the nations”. The choice of the Israelites to prioritize human government over God’s government was clearly not a good choice, which is why Samuel warned the Israelites of all the specific ways a king would abuse and oppress them, leading them down dark and sinful paths.

The teaching of this passage is clear: God is the only true government. Human government at most aligns with and serves God. It cannot amplify God’s Law and it cannot improve upon God’s Will. It could not do so for the ancient Israelites and it would be absurd to presume it can do so now.

We are reminded of this in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”, where he justifies his choice to defy laws defending segregation in the American South by echoing the arguments of Saint Augustine in The Free Choice Of The Will that “a law that is not just does not seem to me to be a law.”

We are reminded of this also in Henry David Thoreau’s classic essay “Civil Disobedience”, where he challenged men everywhere to resist unjust laws and refuse to be complicit in any injustice perpetrated by human government.

At first glance, this would seem to run counter to what the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 13, given how it valorizes obedience to human government. Yet when we read closely, we see that Paul gives greater nuance and context to the question.

As God is the author of all things, it necessarily follows that God establishes people in positions of authority. This claim of Paul makes sense.

Those in positions of authority are charged with protecting those who are obedient to God’s Law. Necessarily, they therefore become agents of God’s Wrath to those who are disobedient to God’s Law.

Yet Paul also reminds us that those in positions of authority are still the servants of God, and this also makes sense. As Deuteronomy makes plain, being gifted with a position of authority does not exempt anyone from following God’s Law, and even lays additional charges upon them of mindfulness and fidelity to God’s Law.

Those in positions of authority are never an authority unto themselves, or a law unto themselves, but are merely the instruments of God’s Authority, and a reflection of God’s Law.

If those in positions of authority are obedient to God’s Law, and faithful to God’s Will, it is reasonable and righteous that we should accept their authority. Where human laws reflect God’s Law, obedience to God’s Law necessarily demands compliance with human law.

Yet if those in positions of authority reject God’s Law, and turn their backs on God’s Will, it can no longer be reasonable or righteous to accept their authority. As Dr. King articulated so eloquently, where human laws are unjust and contradict God’s Law, obedience to God’s Law necessarily demands we reject those unjust human laws.

How do we know whether or not those in authority are themselves obedient to God’s Law? We may know this by examining what comes of human laws. As Jesus Himself taught during the Sermon on the Mount, we look for what people do if we wish to know their obedience to God.

How well or how poorly those in positions of authority are faithful to God’s Law establishes how much or how little reverence and submission we should accord them. This also makes sense, and reading further in Romans 13 we see Paul presenting that teaching as well, reminding us that we should give those in positions of authority “their due.”

What constitutes what those in positions of authority are due?

Arguably it means we pay our taxes even if we disagree on the rationale behind those taxes—provided that rationale is not itself unjust.

It also means we comply with all human laws which are themselves just and in alignment with God’s Law, while we resist all human laws which are themselves unjust and reject God’s Law.

It means we honor and respect all civil authorities who are themselves obedient to God’s Law, and comply with all demands by civil authorities which are reflective of God’s Will.

Where the rationale behind taxation is unjust, when human laws are contrary to God’s Law, when civil authorities do not adhere to God’s Will, we do not comply, nor should we. We work to remove unjust taxation and to repeal unjust laws, but at every turn we oppose such unjust taxation and unjust laws.

That is what it means to give respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due. We give them all that they are due but never any more than they are due.

Who decides what is or is not in accordance with God’s Law? We do. As it was in the time of Judges, each of us must do that which is right in our own minds. We must choose for ourselves whether we will or will not comply with the diktats of human government. We must choose whether we will embrace the consequences of compliance or those of non-compliance.

My prayer especially now is that I will have the discernment and the wisdom to see where human laws align with God’s Law, and where they do not. My prayer especially now is that I will have the integrity to comply with human laws which do align with God’s Law, and to reject human laws which do not. My prayer especially now is that I will have the strength and the discipline to remain faithful to God’s Law no matter what consequence comes my way from human laws.

My prayer for you especially now is that you also will have the discernment and the wisdom to see where human laws align with God’s Law, and where they do not. My prayer for you especially now is that you also will have the integrity to comply with human laws which do align with God’s Law, and to reject human laws which do not. My prayer for you especially now is that you also will have the strength and the discipline to remain faithful to God’s Law no matter what consequence comes your way from human laws.

If we are faithful to God’s Law, we will respect all those in positions of authority when they are likewise faithful to God’s Law. If we are faithful to God’s Law, we will confront all those in positions of authority who act contrary to God’s Law.

That is what it means to give respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due. We give them all that they are due but never any more than they are due.