Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
1 Peter 2:17 NIV
Fear God. Honor the emperor. We fear God because HE is above all and all will one day answer to him. We honor our leaders because God in his sovereignty allows them to be there.
The question of civil disobedience will come up at some time when we consider submitting to every authority instituted among men (I Peter 2:13). If we are asked to do something we know is against God, we choose to obey God rather than man. If we suffer, we suffer with grace.
To submit to the authorities God has put over us does not mean we have to agree with them. As long as we aren't being asked to violate what we believe, we trust God with the outcome. I'm not saying that this is easy for me. It's not. The point is that we look to God as sovereign even over the self-serving, truth-challenged, politicians we have in government. It may cost us to live according to our convictions. But, remember what happened to the early Christians who stood firm in their beliefs: they were scapegoated and killed.
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