Godly Attitudes to Authority

In the previous section, Paul painted a picture of transformed relationships within the community of faith. Now he shifts his focus onto our attitude towards the other relational spheres that we find ourselves in every day – our marriages, our families and our workplaces. He urges us to pursue a godly attitude towards those who have the most influence in our daily lives.

It’s important to recognise that Paul isn’t making a statement about the structural realities of the culture that the Colossian Christians lived in. He’s neither endorsing nor critiquing the society (and power structures) they are part of – he’s just briefly reminding them of the implications of the Gospel.

Paul really doesn’t have much to say here, but that simply makes his central thought more compelling. He doesn’t invest time in trying to address all the complexities of our interpersonal interactions, he just focuses on how our new identity ought to transform the way we approach the most familiar relationships each day. His thoughts are clear:

Relate to those who have authority over you with the same respect and honour that you would give to God. In these verses, Paul uses the term 'Lord/Master' nine times. All authority is established by God – and our responsibility is to cultivate submissive hearts.

That’s not easy when others abuse or misuse the power they have. But our calling is to be faithful – even in the unseen heart choices, because our identity is secure in Jesus. We can handle poor leadership with grace and humility because our real audience is our Heavenly Father.

If you have authority over others, be gracious, gentle and fair. The temptation of power is to use it to build a brand for ourselves at the expense of others. Whatever authority we have as spouses, parents and employers, it should be used to lead with kindness and generosity.

Because we have a secure identity in Jesus, we don’t use people we’ve been given power over. We serve their needs and exercise our authority without showing favouritism.

The Gospel critiques our default tendency to try and control and manipulate others to get what we want. Those without power no longer need to defy those in authority to create a sense of self-worth. Those with power don’t need to use it to dictate how others should behave. In Jesus my identity is secure and so I can approach every relationship with a genuine love instead of a worldly self-interest.

RESPOND

If God is putting an attitude or a behaviour on your heart that he wants you to surrender to Him, then why don’t you pray for wisdom about how to address it. And then make a specific plan for how to change it. You may need to confess something to someone, or perhaps God will give you an idea of what you can do to change the tone of that relationship.