"Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'" Acts 23:5 NIV
THE HIGH PRIEST had just slapped Paul in the mouth for telling the Gospel. Paul then insults the high priest, which most of us probably would do if we weren't too afraid. After this, he is told he insulted the high priest—and we have Acts 23:5.
This can be a hard verse to swallow; we aren't supposed to speak evil of a ruler. But what if we don't agree? Too bad; do not speak evil of a ruler. A ruler can refer to your boss, supervisor, elected official, the president, maybe some other leader in your life. But why shouldn't we speak evil of a ruler? Some might say because it hurts our witness (which it does). But it is also deeper. Lets look at the verse Paul references:
"You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people." Exodus 22:28
When we speak evil of a ruler, we are questioning God's authority to appoint those who are in charge (Romans 13:1-3). Does this mean we have to be happy with how everything is going? No. But, we need to remember to trust God and not speak to others about how horrible the ruler is and how we could do better.
Source: Relevant Magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment