Submit to Others at Work

1 Peter 2:13-20

This is a tough passage, no doubt about it. "Submit ... to every authority instituted among humanity" (emphasis mine). Think about that in terms of workplaces. God is calling you to submit to your supervisors. Now I know what some of you may be thinking. "But my boss doesn't deserve to be the boss in the first place." Look at verse 18: "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh." If you consider the master-slave relationship to be analogous to the employer-employee relationship of our society, then the application is very clear. It doesn't matter whether or not they deserve your respect and obedience. Unless they ask you to do something that is illegal, unethical, and/or immoral, you need to obey. Look at verse 20: "how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?" In other words, if you disobey your supervisor and get punished (demotion, reprimand, fired), you deserve what you got. This doesn't mean that you can't disagree with your supervisor. But at the end of the day, if your dissenting voice isn't heard and accepted, you need to do things your supervisor's way. And hard as it may be, you need to pray for him or her.