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Puritan Board Freshman
I have been thinking about institutional roles and appropriate behavior in light of some of the recent discussions I have had on this board. Some of them have gotten heated, and I am wondering if some of the youth here might be getting the wrong idea about how to respond to an authority who they might have difficulty with. Christ said in regards to weak leadership
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. If I or anybody else takes issue with an authority in the church we are obligated to submit to their decisions regardless of whether we perceive them as graceless or not. I believe this is because the institution will almost certainly outlast the individual in it and for the sake of whatever responsible leadership may come we need to preserve the practice of submission. BUT Christ commands that our personal conduct and attitudes be in submission to his teachings. Most of the time the situation is not binary anyway, our leaders are a mixed bag of Christ like and difficult traits. Christ himself had the authority to call out bad behavior when he saw it. He was (and is) God. But note that he was gentle and encouraging with those who thought their situation was hopeless. He only really opened up on the presumptuous religious authorities. Now an individual who sees abusive behavior in an authority might be tempted to arrogate to themselves the same role that Jesus had and call them out on their own. DON'T do that. If you must confront graceless behavior make sure that you have the authority of scripture to back you up. A young person would ideally go through a parent or other elder rather than take it upon themselves to even quote scripture to an erring authority. Remember the attitude of Jesus in his youth 9" And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart." The child Jesus, who truly did know it all, submitted to the authority of his flawed parents out of respect for their standing, and we should do the same.
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. If I or anybody else takes issue with an authority in the church we are obligated to submit to their decisions regardless of whether we perceive them as graceless or not. I believe this is because the institution will almost certainly outlast the individual in it and for the sake of whatever responsible leadership may come we need to preserve the practice of submission. BUT Christ commands that our personal conduct and attitudes be in submission to his teachings. Most of the time the situation is not binary anyway, our leaders are a mixed bag of Christ like and difficult traits. Christ himself had the authority to call out bad behavior when he saw it. He was (and is) God. But note that he was gentle and encouraging with those who thought their situation was hopeless. He only really opened up on the presumptuous religious authorities. Now an individual who sees abusive behavior in an authority might be tempted to arrogate to themselves the same role that Jesus had and call them out on their own. DON'T do that. If you must confront graceless behavior make sure that you have the authority of scripture to back you up. A young person would ideally go through a parent or other elder rather than take it upon themselves to even quote scripture to an erring authority. Remember the attitude of Jesus in his youth 9" And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart." The child Jesus, who truly did know it all, submitted to the authority of his flawed parents out of respect for their standing, and we should do the same.