Fear God and Honor the King Even if He's Nero.

We often display such confidence that we know God's will in the big picture of government and politics. Yet he raised up Nebachadnezzar to discipline the Israelites. And he appointed the prophet Daniel to be one of the King's most loyal subjects. He also told the prophet Samuel to anoint David king while Saul was still king. From the current Israeli government perspective, with Saul as King, that was high treason.

I think it more prudent as believers to be less dogmatic and claiming we know God's will for people and government positions we know very little about (let's be honest, we are more misinformed than we care to admit) and instead keep our smear campaigns or praise campaigns to ourselves and instead follow the advice of Paul to the Christians in Thessalonica,

1Th 4:11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business...

And don't forget the advice of Peter in 1 Peter 2:17...Fear God and respect/honor the King.

Do you know that Nero was king of the Roman Empire when Peter wrote that? That was the empire the recipients of his letter lived in. Nero was a wicked and perverse human being. He was responsible for many deaths of Christians, including the Apostle Paul. Peter in no way commanded, nor intended, that we honor evil practices contrary to Scripture and the righteousness of God, but he did command that we honor and respect the position he has placed the kings in, and in our times, presidents, even those whose past or present, policies or positions, is anything but godly.

And let's not forget the Archangel Michael who when disputing over the body of Moses did not personally rebuke Satan!

Jude 1:9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

To respect the office is not to condone the practices or the person, but God tells us to respect the position and office they uphold. We must wrestle with how to conduct ourselves when we passionately disagree with the governing official's lifestyles and policies. We may detest the person but we must separate the person from the office.

We must be extremely careful how we voice our complaint. Oppose their policies, disagree with their practices, but you sin and will be judged accordingly when you disparage and dishonor them. God ultimately placed them there so remember that the next time you voice your complaint. They will be judged for their actions and you for how you honored or dishonored them.