— By Dr. Howard W. Norton (May 4, 2020)

Politics has always been a rough and tumble sport. Political leaders suffer close scrutiny, harsh criticism, and constant danger of physical harm and/or character assassination. Winston Churchill put it well, “Politics is more dangerous than war, for in war you are only killed once.”

Whether leaders are good people or not has little to do with how followers treat them. Moses, for example, was a righteous man and “very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Number 12:3 – ESV). Even so, his own brother and sister questioned his leadership; and Israel repeatedly rebelled against him.

God disapproved of rebellion and established the law Paul quoted in Acts 23:5 – “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.” Paul apologized for having violated the command while disputing with the high priest. Many of us have also violated this principle.

Whether or not we agree, we owe respect to elected officials. Scripture says there “is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God . . . whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed. . . .” (Romans 13:1-5).