We are told in Scripture that children must be taught to obey their parents (Eph.6:1). We are told to submit to civil authorities (Romans 13:1). Yet, Peter and the other apostles said “We ought to obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29).
Is there a difference between obedience and submission? I think there is. Obedience means to do what you are told to do by someone in authority, while submission indicates the proper attitude toward the person in authority even if, for conscience’s sake, one cannot do what they are told to do. A good illustration of this is a story I once heard: a little boy was standing up on the pew in church and his father told him to sit down and he wouldn’t do it, so the father put his hands on the boy’s shoulders and made him sit down. The boy said to his father, ‘I am sitting down on the outside, but I am standing up on the inside!’ The father made the boy obey but did not make him submissive.
How Does This Relate To Daily Life
One of the most important things one can learn is how to recognize authority and how to relate to it. Authorities exist in all realms of life. Your employer, police officers, government officials, leaders in church, etc. Authorities exist for the sake of order in our society. We need these different manifestations of authority. But, sometimes human authority becomes abusive, unbiblical, or acts as a dictatorship. What are we to do in such situations?
Pray for those in authority (1 Tim.2:1-2).
Obey as much as you possibly can without disobeying the Word of God or your conscience.
If the authority requires something contrary to the Word of God, disobey it and obey God’s Word, while attempting to keep a right attitude toward the authority.
One can always be submissive even in times when one cannot obey. The ability to do so shows the work of the Spirit within us – self-control (Gal.5:22-24).
This is often seen in government leaders who, by fiat or legitimately pass laws that require citizens to do unbiblical things. There are numerous examples of that in both Old Testament and New Testament passages.
I believe this becomes even more important to know and do the closer we get to the return of the Lord.