The Bible at swearing-in sermons

Resolving Personal &
Spiritual Conflicts
ROMANS 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.According to the holy book civil disobedience is sin. Believers are not exempted from submitting to earthly authorities because they are part of the citizens of nations. The Bible is clear on the citizens’ duties to the State. Scriptures exhort believers to pay taxes, custom duties, and any other statutory payment required.
 But the major obligation of every citizen to the government is to obey and honour rulers. The reasons for this are many but there are two major reasons given in the Bible. One of them is that national leaders are ordained of God. Romans 13:1-2 read, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God”.
 Honouring and obeying leaders is the same as honouring God Himself. The second major reason is that higher powers are appointed by God to execute justice and to maintain peace and order. 1 Peter 2:13-14 say, “For the sake of the Lord submit to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and praise those who do good.”
However, God is never one-sided. In His sight it is not only citizens who have obligations to the authorities. The higher powers also have duties to fulfil to the citizens.
The relationship must be symbiotic, that is to say, it must yield mutual benefits. Higher powers, in this case namely councillors, members of parliament, government ministers, presidents and such like, are always expected by God and the citizens to do what is right, fair, just and to be kind and faithful in carrying out their duties of meeting the needs of the citizens and serving the interests of the majority.
In a week’s time elections will be held and higher powers will be elected into offices. Before they assume their duties, it is a custom of the inauguration procedure that they be sworn-in. I have observed that the swearing-in ceremony is done when someone takes an oath of loyalty while holding a closed Bible.
The Bible in that event represents the highest power which is God, and holding it while taking an oath is an attempt to fulfil the scripture that says leaders are ordained of God.
 It is quite interesting to notice that the one being sworn-in asks God to help him or her in leading and ruling God’s people.
That means that one recognises the largeness of the task ahead and therefore seeks the help of God, the source of all strength and wisdom. Solomon is commended in the Bible for one great thing: asking God for wisdom and an understanding heart in leading and governing God’s people.       
 But since the Bible is not opened and scriptures on God’s requirements and expectations on ruling His people are not read at the swearing-in ceremonies, it is the duty of spiritual leaders who have the time to study the scriptures to advise those who will occupy high offices in our nation. 
The divine requirements in leading His people are many and varied ranging from character to wisdom. However, two major requirements are having the subjects at heart and upholding the law and worship of God.    Having the subjects at heart is recognising that as a leader you are put there in office as a servant of the people.  The basic purpose of your existence in office is not to build your own empire or to receive the perks and benefits but it is to serve the interests of the people who voted you into office. Failure to remember this results in the abuse of authority and national resources and also in being rejected by the people. A good biblical example of a leader who lost the favour of the subjects was Rehoboam.
His mistake was that he acted on the ill-advice that the best way of ruling people was by showing a strong hand and adopting a policy of non-compliance with their request for mercy and kindness. Rehoboam did not mean to lighten the burdens of people and to make life easier for them (2 Chronicles 10). So he lost power.
King Jeroboam, on the other hand, though elected by God into office, lost favour and power because he interfered with the worship of God. Instead of submitting himself to the law of God, the highest authority who had permitted him to rule, he disrupted the worship of God by crafting a policy of setting-up idol gods (1Kings 12). This led to his downfall.  Leaders who have people at heart and who uphold the worship of God will have the favour of both God and man.
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