Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people. Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

How often did you struggle listening to your teacher as a kid? Some of us loved to test the boundaries with our teachers, others were sneaky in defiance, and others wanted to please their teachers and listened to their direction easily. Adults still have authority figures we listen to, leaders who set the pace and direction for our workplaces, towns, and country. When we are young and wrestle with listening our teachers, our motivation often comes from within. If we want the teacher to like us, we listen. If we don’t like the teacher, we don’t listen. And these tendencies also last into adulthood.

Peter addressed this struggle of our hearts, appealing to believers to submit ourselves to every human institution. But he also gives us the insight of why we do it: It is not because of our preference, because of who is deserving, or even what others will think of us. As Christ followers, we follow the leadership that is over us for the Lord’s sake.

Being respectful toward our president may never achieve us a badge of honor. Listening to our boss may never bring us a commendation or a raise. But when we submit to those who have been put in leadership, we glorify God. Peter even goes as far to say that this is God’s will. Through this quiet act of submission in our hearts and actions to our leaders, we can silence the ignorance of foolish people. This idea seems counterintuitive, especially when we feel strongly about who should be in leadership that submitting feels unnatural, but this is how our God has called us to live as His people, and our trustworthy God will surely equip us for this task.

• How have you struggled with submitting to leadership?
• What does it look like to submit to leadership in your context today?
• Pray for the leadership that is above you in your office, town, and country.