Questioning Authority

Have you ever questioned authority? Come on, I know you let that police officer have it when he handed you that ticket. Maybe you’ve had some questions for Mr. Obama lately. I ask my wife questions all the time. Of course, I’m hiding under the bed when I do it. Many times, it’s all in the asking. How we approach people can make all the difference in the world. Keep in mind, some people just can’t be approached.   My dad use to put the fear of God in me. I learned at a young age that I wasn’t running the show, he was. I use to sit and try to figure out how I was going to answer his questions. If I started by saying “I thought,” he would say, “That’s what you get for thinking.” If I told him that I did something wrong because I wasn’t thinking, he would say, “Why didn’t you think?”   It was a pain but it always kept me on my toes.   I love to ask old timers, specifically my mother-in-law, questions about the church. I love to ask questions about why the church does some of the things they do. Many times the answers are very unsatisfying. It’s like asking my dad something and him telling me because I said so. I always hated that answer and now I understand because I tell my daughter the same thing. We don’t like being asked why. Why don’t people like being held accountable? Could it be that we’re afraid to answer the question? A lot of times we just feel disrespected by who is doing the asking.   I absolutely love it when my daughter starts pushing me in areas that she doesn’t understand. I love to promote thinking outside the box. She was sitting in the back seat one day and we had just bought a pizza. She began to read the box and then asked me some very important questions. Written on the box was a note claiming that they used real cheese on the pizza. Baylie started laughing, as if she was mocking the pizza box. “Hey daddy, why did they put that on the pizza box?” “No one eats fake cheese on a pizza.” That is definitely my kid. I love it.   Look at our country or the state of the church for that matter. How did we arrive at our current destination? Could it be that no one was asking questions? Somebody should have been asking Bernie Madolf some questions. Somebody should have been asking Jim Jones some questions. I have a question. Why do they put brail on drive up ATM buttons? Doesn’t is scare you that we have blind people driving cars?   I’ve become disillusioned with the current state of many leaders. They’ve become unapproachable. Many have become so close to God, or so they think, that they can’t stand the stench of their own sheep any more. When approached or asked, they’ve learned to divert or deflect in very much the same way our politicians do. If I only had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the following verse.   1Ch 16:22   Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.     This scripture has become a whipping post for many Christians. It has been used to beat people into an ungodly, and very much unscriptural, submission. People have been beat with fear to the point of watching for lightning bolts from heaven if they even dare to question something. You better watch out, God will get you, or so I’ve been told. Do you realize that God isn’t out to get even with you? He got even at the Cross. Whenever He begins to look upon our sin, our Lord is there to remind Him. The price has already been paid. Yes, God chastises us but only with the intention of getting us to Heaven.   I most definitely believe in this verse of scripture. I believe that it is God’s job to rebuke his anointed, not mine. This scripture tells us to do them no harm but somehow it’s been misrepresented. We’ve come to believe that we aren’t allowed to question right from wrong. We’ve been taught that we can’t stand up for the word of God if we see contradictions. Why, because you are coming against your God given authority? This is a copout and dangerously moving into an abuse of power. This is the very reason churches are labeled as cults. This verse has become an excuse for a lack of accountability.   Hasn’t God given us permission to bring our burdens to Him? Are we not allowed to petition Him, or even ask Him why? I know we don’t always get the answers we want but we are never rebuked for asking. The Lord welcomes our fellowship and even our questions. So if a person in leadership has placed himself above accountability or even above being questioned, have they in fact placed themselves above God? I’m not as worried about those of us who have questions for our leaders as I am the leaders themselves.   William Cory Stanley http://www.williamcstanley.com   Author of:   Two Stones Between Us—A Remedy for the Hurting Church Whisper of Promise—Learning to Wait for God  

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