A Healthy View of Authority - Ecclesiastes 8:1-7

A Healthy View of Authority Ecclesiastes 8:1-7 (c)Copyright July 12, 2020 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche We have certainly been living in unprecedented times. Most people would affirm that we live in a post-Christian culture. Politicians regularly end their talks with "God Bless America!" and enact policies that run very counter to what the Bible teaches. Our governing authorities seem to be taking more and more power in our lives and many people look to the government to meet their needs in a way that used to be reserved for God. How are Christians supposed to respond to the government in changing times? In the course of history, Christians have responded in different ways. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor in the time of Hitler. He was opposed to everything Hitler represented. For a while, Bonhoeffer feigned obedience. He was actually serving as a double agent. He left Germany and came to America to teach. His conscience however, overwhelmed him. He had to return to Germany to support those he loved. Later, Bonhoeffer was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The plot failed and Bonhoeffer was eventually arrested and executed. Another example is Daniel. He was transported to Babylon as a prisoner. Daniel worked faithfully within the system without denying his faith. He eventually was given positions of authority. Those who did not like him knew that the one weakness he had was his faith. They put him in a position where he had to choose between obeying the Lord or obeying the law. Daniel chose the Lord. He was thrown into the lion's den. The Lord shut the mouth of the lions, and the lions were rewarded with Daniels antagonists for lunch. Which was is correct: resistance and opposition or cooperation? How do we respond to anyone who is in authority over us: an employer, a parent, a police officer, a teacher, a coach? Do you aggressively go after those you feel are not what they should be? The Lord is going to give us some principles through Solomon today. The Ideal Leader 1 How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening its harshness. Chuck Swindoll says he received great counsel once: "the person who knows how, will usually have a job, but that individual will usually work for the one who knows why." (Ragged Edge p. 223) The ideal leader is able to analyze and interpret things. They see what needs to be done and why it needs to be done. They see the goal and are making plans for how to reach that goal. Some of the most impressive leaders today are people who are called "visionaries." In other words, they saw the need for a product or service before others did. Think about Amazon. It foresaw the trend of people to desire to shop from home before that desire was even there. The first several years of Amazon's business they were losing money and everyone scoffed. . . but Jeff Bezos had a clear vision. We see the same story with Google, Apple computer, Netflix and Facebook as well. Not everyone is going to have the kind of vision and creativity these companies have had but a good leader needs to be looking down the road. Most people are concerned with "right now." They want to fix this or to look this way. The leader must look beyond the "right now" and steer toward something. If you are always "putting out fires, you will never have time to build anything." It is important to ask the question: where are we going? As the old saying says, "If you aim at nothing, nothing is what you will hit. The second characteristic of a good leader is someone who has a cheerful disposition. Did you catch that? "wisdom lights up a person's face, softening its harshness." A good leader is someone you want to be around. Most of us know what it is like to work for someone who is grumpy. A grumpy person sucks the life out of you. They make the days seem longer and the job more difficult. A grumpy leader has a tendency to create grumpy followers. Grumpy employees (or church members) will repel other people rather than draw them in. If you have ever looked at our church statement of faith on our website, you will notice the last item on the list is: "we believe there is no sin in laughter or smiling." That is in there because we believe it should be fun to be a follower of Jesus. I love some of the new Christian movies and shows that have a smiling Jesus. How refreshing! If you read some of the texts of Scripture with the right tone, you come away believing Jesus had a great sense of humor. I believe some of the stories He told were meant to provoke a smile. The fact that God gave us a sense of humor (which does seem to be buried very deep in some people) would indicate He designed us to have a sense of humor as well. The Bible tells us to live in the "joy of the Lord" and to "rejoice always, again, I say, rejoice." When I know joy, my face usually shows it! You look at the face of some people and you get the distinct feeling it has been a very long time since they have known any joy. When the leader is joy-filled the workers will be more joy-filled. One of the things I always appreciated about Ronald Regan was his sense of humor. You could see in his face that he enjoyed living. Even when he was being wheeled into surgery after he was shot he was cracking jokes. He asked the surgical team, "Do you folks happen to be Democrats or Republicans?" The God-directed leader should be one of the happiest people around because they are walking in fellowship with the One who is and brings life. Qualities of Those Who Serve 2 Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3 Don't try to avoid doing your duty, and don't stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. The first characteristic of one who serves is: A Cooperative Spirit. This is true whether you are a citizen, an employee, a student, a member of a team, part of a congregation, or just part of a family. No matter who the person is who is in charge, we are to follow their lead unless they are telling us to do something God says is wrong. In Romans 13 we are told, " For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (vv.1-2)". This doesn't mean that God selects every leader . . . but God has set things up so there would be people who had authority in various areas. Without some kind of authority structure, you have complete chaos or anarchy. People will do whatever they can get away with. Imagine a country with no leader; a city with no police force, no way of enforcing traffic laws, no Judges to settle disputes . . .it would be anarchy! The strongest would victimize the weak. All matters would be settled by violence or intimidation. What is true for a country is true for every organization. Imagine a company that had no boss! Nothing would ever get done and no one would ever get paid. There would be no accountability. There would be abject aimlessness. Even churches need leaders to set some kind of direction for the church. Another measure of a cooperative spirit is to do your job. Solomon says "Don't try to avoid doing your duty." When we agree to serve in a certain capacity we should live up to the agreement. * If you agree to be a citizen of this land you should pay your taxes, vote in elections, and do your best to enrich, rather than tear down, the country. * If you agree to take a job, you should follow through without complaining about the job you selected. * If you agree to serve a company, you should serve them honorably rather than tearing them down. * If you agree to be part of a church family, you should support that church with your time, your resources, your gifts and your encouragement. * If you agree to be part of a family, you should show the other family members respect and honor your parents and cherish your spouse. * And if you agree to follow Christ you should do so with perseverance and enthusiasm. Jesus said, " "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62) It is a simple premise: Do the job you agreed to do. No excuses. Just do the job. If you sign on to do something . . . do it! The second characteristic of one who serves well is a respect of authority. Solomon said, 4 His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble. The first reason to respect authority is there will be consequences for those who do not respect authority. If you don't obey a police officer you should not be surprised if you are arrested. If you come aggressively toward the President or a Ruler you will be taken down and spend some time in jail. If you are publicly critical of the company you work for, you will be fired. If you undermine your boss, you will be fired. If you run through a toll booth on the highway, you will get a bill in the mail If you keep reading in Romans 13 you see that authorities have power to enforce or else no one will obey the law! THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM for people who are obeying the law! The people in authority wield power. The smart servant has a healthy respect for those in authority. It is a simple premise: If we do not respect earthly authority, we most likely will not respect God's authority either. The good servant is wise and resourceful. Respecting authority doesn't mean we simply stand by when things are wrong. It means you try to make change in respectful ways. It means being discerning and wise in what you do. When young pastors ask me "How do I bring change to my church?" I often say, "Don't . . . until you understand why people are doing what they are currently doing." The person who comes into a church, a business or an organization and immediately starts making wholesale changes is not showing respect to those who were there before them! The assumption is: these people did not know what they were doing. We must understand why something is done before we have any credibility or capital that will allow us to suggest and move forward with change. Think about the criticism great leaders received. People were upset because "it wasn't working" or "it cost too much money which we may need for other things." However, the leader was trying to steer the ship to a better destination. Here's the point: don't assume you understand everything that is going on. It is the same thing in a business. People will listen to ideas for change when they feel they (and their process) is respected. It is ALWAYS a good idea to ask WHY something is being done before you tell someone they are wrong. Blasting away at someone is likely to get you fired. Wisdom means looking for the right time and the right words to humbly make a suggestion. The goal should never be to crush another person; the goal should be to get better leadership! Solomon said: "Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble." Pushing and blasting away at others is a very ineffective way to bring about change. The good worker looks for tactful ways to discuss change. They preserve another person's dignity. I love this definition of tact: "It is the ability to make someone feel at home even when you wish they were." A person with tact can say hard things and be heard because the other person still feels cared for and understood. Wisdom knows when and how hard to push without being offensive. There is a time to take a stand and there is a time to simply "go with the flow." Sometimes change is necessary but that change needs to take place in steps rather than all at once. The Need for Humility In all of this we need to face a truth that should change our arrogance into humility. 7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don't know is going to happen? 8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked. The reality is this: whether we are a leader or one who is following a leader none of us knows what the future holds. * a company can be sold * an idea could backfire * your position could be eliminated * you could become sick * you could even die We do not know when the next phone call will change our life forever. We don't know what the economy is going to do. You don't know how someone is going to respond to something you say. The feeling of power we have is only an illusion. It is a DERIVED POWER. It is given to us by God for however long He chooses to let us enjoy it. We all tend to live as if we had all kinds of time. If we have learned anything over the last several weeks it is: you never know how much time you have. We should not waste it on petty squabbles and manipulative behavior. The book of Daniel tells is the story of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. One day the King was bragging about his great Kingdom. Then the Lord spoke to him and Nebuchadnezzar went crazy and was cast out into the woods like an animal. When he came to his senses we read, At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?" Jonathan Edwards the great Puritan preacher continued to write and live by a list of resolutions. My favorite is this one: "resolved, to live this day in the way I will wish I had lived it when I stand before the Lord." Someday we will stand before the Lord. We will face the Judge of all the world. We will have to give an account for how well we followed Him, how well we led others, and how well we respected the authority the Lord laid before us. Solomon states it clearly, in those days "wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked." We all live under some kind of authority. We are citizens of a nation. We may have loans to institutions. We have jobs that often place us under others or under some kind of regulation. Our job is to be respectful and to work for change in ways that honor the Lord rather than disgrace Him. Ultimately, it is about trusting God. We trust Him to lead us . . . even when those who are above us don't seem to know what they are doing. We are living at time when the default response is to criticize and demonize. God did not give us those options . . . instead the Bible tells us we should pray for our leaders and governing authorities. I can't help but wonder: what would happen if we submitted to God's authority and turned to prayer rather than criticism and outrage? I would love for us, and for the watching world, to see what God would do. 1