Different Life: 4th CommandmentSample

Here’s a curious thing. When Martin Luther explains the 4th Commandment, he says: “We should fear and love God so that we do not despite or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve, and obey them, love, and cherish them” (Small Catechism).

It’s that phrase, “and other authorities.” Where does he get that from?

He’s not alone. The Heidelberg Catechism does it too. When it asks, “What does God require of me in [this commandment]? It answers, “That I show all honor, love and fidelity, to my father and mother, and all in authority over me…” (Q.104). The Catechism of the Catholic Church will call the family “the original cell of social life” (para. 2207) and the 4th Commandment something that “illuminates other relationships in society” (para. 2212).

Not only does the 4th Commandment give us a template for how to treat God, it gives us a template for how to treat anyone in authority. Remember, what we call “10 Commandments” are better understood as 10 Ideas – a table of contents for how to interact with God and each other.

Who has God placed in authority? Who is in a position of leadership over you? Whether you like them or not, God has also entrusted them with a sacred task, and it’s worthy of our honor.

Today, read some ways in the Bible where we are called to honor leaders. How can you go about showing honor to the leaders over you today?