Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men!”

This verse is the foundation of the long and honorable tradition of civil disobedience, but there has also been a great deal of misuse of it, ignoring its foundation: obeying God. People have used this verse to dress up and justify their own, entirely selfish actions, and God will not honor that. As we have seen in countless political “movements,” human motivation quickly descends into violence. Those who do that cannot rightly claim this verse! The thing is, when we really think about this verse, “obeying men” includes obeying our own flesh, and we are all very prone to do that. We are to be aware of our bodies in order to be good stewards of them, but letting our bodies be in control is hedonism, and that very quickly descends into moral, emotional, and physical chaos. The principle of obeying God first and foremost of course applies in the spiritual realm as well. As James famously said, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Without obedient submission to God, we are the devil’s toys, manipulated however he pleases. There is no peace and joy in that! So to come back to Peter’s statement, we are never to break laws or disobey authority on our own, but we must remember that God’s laws and His authority are supreme. A prime example in recent years has been doctors who have refused to perform procedures, such as abortion or “gender reassignment surgery,” because of their conviction that doing so would be in violation of God’s order. They can rightly claim this verse!

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation of civil disobedience, and I am grateful for that. I perhaps came close when I steadfastly resisted all the pressure to receive an mRNA shot, but at least in Japan the pressure was largely social rather than legal. I have worn masks a great deal over the past four years. Those were largely useless and thus silly posturing, but wearing them was no more than minor discomfort. Here in Japan, medical facilities still largely require them for all who enter, but even that is finally relaxing. On a deeper level, I have obeyed my body rather than God on countless occasions. I am still learning to submit to God! Thankfully, I’ve come a long way on that front, but like Paul, I can’t say I’ve “arrived.” I must maintain humility before my Lord and listen to His Spirit at all times.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how far You have brought me, but keep me from prideful carelessness. May I always be actively obedient to You, for Your purposes to be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!