SPIRIT OF DEFIANCE

 

The elections are over.

This national election is one of the most exciting electoral exercises I have ever witnessed in our country. The sixteenth President  Rodrigo Duterte will step down on June 30, 2022 to pave the way for the Presidential succession. The result of the election recently held shows it’s going to be Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. who will be the next President. He reclaims the highest position in the land once held by his father and namesake Ferdinand E. Marcos, the discredited and ousted dictator yet the most brilliant President the country has ever produced.

The massive votes cast in favor of Ferdinand Jr. is dumbfounding, that the intellectual elite, left wing forces, academicians, students, clerics, business and professional sectors, artists, celebrities, politicians, multisectoral groups, who participated in the snowballing mass movement of volunteerism campaigning for the wholesome and kind Leni Robredo, still reel from the debacle of a lost cause.  Varied opinions and analysis have been given to understand how the son of the late strongman has become so charismatic that he had drawn this incredibly immense support from the electorate. Others are still skeptical.

And  I am disheartened by the irascible pocket of  student  demonstration at the U.P. by students who expressed their rejection of the newly elected President, calling for a student walk out and declaring that there should be no classes under a Marcos Presidency. They want to repudiate the electoral mandate. I am disheartened by this spirit of rebellion though not surprised since the UP Academic Community is a class of its own. The culture of radical student activism and secularism is organic in this state university, which, no question, is the best in the country. Having mellowed down by age, and converted to Christianity, I am disheartened because this rebellious spirit against  government  authority,  is, I now realize, a regressive movement.     

Within human civilization, God has established a chain of command, and rebellion against God’s ordained order is sin. Romans 13:1–7 instructs us to submit ourselves to the governing authorities, as long as those authorities do not require us to disobey the authority of God (cf. Acts 5:29). Rebellion against righteous authority leads to anarchy and the dissolution of society. In the home, God’s chain of authority is that the husband is to be the head of the family. The husband’s responsibility is to lead his family in submitting to Christ (Ephesians 5:23). The wife is to submit  to her husband, and children are to obey their parents (Ephesians 5:22; 6:1; Colossians 3:18, 20). Rebellion against familial authority practically leads to chaos and dysfunction within the home.

Within the church, God has also created order. He has appointed elders to shepherd and keep watch over the congregation (1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; Hebrews 13:17).  A classic example is the Roman Catholic Church. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church goes up to the Papacy down to the Clergy whose authority are to be recognized respected and obeyed.  While elders or pastors are never to have absolute control over anyone, they are to be honored and obeyed as much as is healthy for the church and the individual. Rebellion within a church leads to division and strife and a loss of effectiveness in carrying out God’s mission (1 Corinthians 3:3–6).

The same can be said of Government or Civil Authority. God has ordained civil powers. The primary emphasis is on the authority to rule, not the person who rules. God ordained that there should be ruling authorities to keep law and order. Our God is a God of Order and not chaos and disorder.

Every human heart has the seed of rebellion germinating deep within. We are “rights sensitive,”  pushing demands based on what we believe is  right, and, when others do not agree with us, we rebel, worst, even show hate. Learning to appeal to authority is one way to avoid the spirit of rebellion. Creative thinking is another way we can channel our passion for change into productive avenues. Offering solutions in respectful ways invites our governing authorities to consider options they may not have discovered without our input. Submission to governing authorities is positive obedience. Indeed, when we see systemic sins, ungodly policies and injustices promoted and protected by the State, as servants of God we are required to stand in the side of God, to be bold messengers, to resort to legitimate protest but never to advocate rebellion or defiance. Firm in our conviction, yet, respectful of the civil authorities. This is the honorable way.