What Insights Can The Bible Give Us For Relating Effectively To Our Authorities?

1. Ask the Lord to put people of wisdom, knowledge and Godliness in positions of leadership. Moses wrote, "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt."

2. Respectfully remind authorities to serve with a healthy reverence for the Lord. David wrote, "Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoicing."

3. Ask the Lord to give your leaders a wise sense of justice, fairness and righteousness. David wrote, "Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is nor more." (Psa. 72: 1-7)

4. Remember that sound leadership is only facilitated with just, righteous and wise decisions. Solomon wrote, "The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth should not betray justice. Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness." (Prov. 16: 10,12)

5. Speak graciously to rulers so they will follow your good example in speech and conduct. Solomon wrote, "Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool - how much worse lying lips to a ruler!" (Prov. 17:7)

6. Fear the righteous anger of your boss, but rejoice when you receive his or her favor. Solomon wrote, "A king's rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass." (Prov. 19:12)

7. When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes. (Prov. 20:8) A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. (Prov. 20:26)

8. Encourage leaders to demonstrate love and reliability for their own security. Solomon wrote, "Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure." (Prov. 20:28)

9. Ask the Lord to direct your leader's decisions toward God's priorities. Solomon wrote, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases . " (Prov. 21: 1)

10. Have a healthy respect, admiration and fear of your leaders. Solomon wrote, "Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them and who knows what calamities they can bring?" (Prov. 24:21,22)

11. No one will ever be able to understand all of the thoughts of a leader except God. Solomon wrote, "As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable." (Prov. 25 :3)

12. Ask the Lord to remove ungodly advisers from the leader's inner circle. Solomon wrote, "Remove the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness." (Prov. 25:5)

13. Ask the Lord to direct, establish and prosper Godly leaders in every position of authority. Solomon wrote, "When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan." (Prov. 29:2)

14. Seek to elect leaders who will bring stability by rooting out corruption and replacing it with Godly justice, truth and love. Solomon wrote, "By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tear it down." (Prov. 29:4)

15. Ask the Lord to give your leaders fair minds in making decisions without any partiality. Solomon wrote, "If the king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure." (Prov. 29: 14)

16. Show proper submission to those who are in positions of authority over you. Paul wrote, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."(Rom. 13:1,2)

17. Submit to authorities for your own well being and the avoidance of any punishments. Paul wrote, "Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. (Rom. 13:5) Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." (Rom. 13 :7) 17. Publicly pray for God's wisdom, blessing and gracious provisions for your leaders. Paul wrote, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."