Some Thoughts on Anarchy and Authority
Some years ago I was watching a news channel whereon reporters were describing a riotous scene in one of America’s major cities. The distressed situation had resulted from a dispute about what happened to an arrested citizen during his police custody in which he died. The escalated behavior of some city residents were being shown in real-time; venting their frustrations by throwing rocks at police, destroying cars, setting fire to buildings and looting businesses. When interviewed, these people often made little or no sense. Many comments expressed by interviewees were emotional, irrational babbling. To be fair, this babbling was also probably because they were adrenalized and weren’t thinking clearly. That happens to all of us when we’re upset and asked to articulate feelings and circumstances in the heat of the moment, yes?
In this melee, a particular man was filmed destroying property. And when interviewed, he described to the reporter why he was behaving in such a way, proudly declaring himself to be an “Anarchist.” That was the most sophisticated word that I heard coming out of the whole crowd being interviewed that evening. Anarchist. The reporter was so caught off guard by it that he repeated it back to the guy, who confirmed that he meant what he said. I don’t know whether or not the man fully understood the word, but he was nevertheless spot-on right. He indeed embraced and perpetuated a state of disorder due to his non-recognition of authority. He was his “own man,” so to speak. His own authority. And as such he could do whatever he wished. And so, according to this man, there was no need for laws and therefore no need for enforcement. No need for government. No need for police. No need for accountable authority.
Of course, this is highly concerning. Not because this riotous man was stating an extreme position, but because it is what our modern-day macro society really and subtly thinks in its day-to-day heart, and therefore his extreme position isn’t so uncommon. At his radical core (root heart) the human being largely wants to be his own and ultimate authority. But that flatly cannot be because all authority is assigned. No one has inherent authority except God. Read that again because it’s the most important point in this whole blog post. Only God has inherent authority. He is the great I AM and in Him is all. Therefore, any and all human authority is derivative of God. To be sure, with authority comes power and the heart of sinful man often abuses that power in corrupted ways. Nevertheless, God sovereignly dispenses authority to various persons and positions and they in turn do the same. And so it goes. Everyone has a boss, except God.
The foolish anarchist may not want to believe that there is a law which he must obey—or Law-giver to whom he must answer as Judge—but the reality is… there is. Just a few proofs of this are described in Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:16; and Rev. 20:12. And an equal reality is that the law has penalties and consequences associated with its breaking. The anarchist is the blind man who will fall into the real pit that he deludingly thinks doesn’t exist. But there it is, right there in front of him. Pretend gravity doesn’t exist: even scream it loudly and often; cite perverted science that gravity is really a fiction; and enact laws that put people in jail for believing in it—but all that won’t change the fact that he will drop into the pit due to the physical truth of gravity. In part, law is gracious in that it serves as a fence around the pit to protect its citizen (even the anarchist) but in foolish anger the disobedient crash through it, only to fall into hardship or demise. The anarchist is like the rogue pilot who overestimates his capabilities, uttering the famous last words before flying under the bridge, “Watch this.” The Bible’s akin analogy is the man who planned to build a bigger barn but was unaware that he would never see the next morning’s sunrise.
How different is King David’s view of the law, of which he declares his love. And as the psalmist sings in Psalm 119 of its benefits, the law is a fount of blessing and he not only dare not stray from it, but he revels in it and thrives because of it. Of course, David is speaking about God’s law which is perfect, and not man’s law which is often not a reflection of God’s precepts but of man’s depravity to codify and approve his rebellion.
And therein lies the greater distress over and above the riotous man’s self-description and his making life miserable for his neighbors. That is, mankind’s radical rebellion against God, which proclaims us all as anarchists against the King of kings. To be sure, the rioting man’s behavior was grossly wrong; he was calling evil, good and good, evil. But the weightier concern is our own treason against the ultimate Authority. The Sovereign of the universe. That should raise in us more intense ire and warrant our foremost attention. Lo…every knee shall bow.
