Monday-We’re Never Alone
- Chet Gladkowski
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
1 Peter 2:13,14
If I was trying to get you to like me, then I’d say a lot of things that you’d agree with. Things that would make you happy. Things that would make your life easier. Things to convince you that I was on your side. On your team. Oh my gosh, I just turned into a politician.
But everyone does this to a point. We all want people to like us. To root for us. To be on our team. No one wants to be totally alone. As a matter of fact, you can’t. It’s an impossibility to live life totally on your own. Many have tried.
Retiring early at the age of 51, Richard Proenneke moved to the absolute middle of nowhere in Twin Lakes Alaska to build a cabin. Most everything was made from what was all around him. He dug up and carried gravel from the lake as a foundation. After cutting down trees and letting them dry. Then he hand-cut them for the walls, framing, and roof. He dug up stones and made them into a fireplace and flue.
There’s a documentary about this remarkable man and his great accomplishment. It’s called “Alone in the Wilderness[1]” and it’s marvelous. What this guy does is truly amazing. How this one-man construction crew built this amazing cabin just makes my jaw drop.
But even though Richard was alone in the wilderness, he didn’t build his cabin all by himself. Not by a longshot. He had lots of help. First of all, a pilot flew him and all his supplies in. And then every once in a while he’d fly in again to bring more supplies. All his clothes, shoes, coats, hats, and tools were purchased from companies.
Please know that I’m not taking anything away from Richards unbelievable accomplishment. Whenever I watch some of the 8mm film that he took by himself, I just stare in unbelief at his skill. Watching him trim logs so they sit flat against one another is just mindboggling to me.
In a very real way, no one here on planet Earth can live alone. Everyone depends on a very large circle of support. And to make that work, for people to get anything done, someone has to be in charge. Someone’s following the leadership of another person. And so we all submit.
Your probably thinking that as a modern, well-educated, smart person that you don’t submit to anyone. If you think that, you’re only fooling yourself. We’re all submitting all the time.
We can’t just go wherever we want. Try to walk in and see the mayor of your city or president of a company. You can’t.
When you go to the airport, you need a valid ticket for that day and photo ID before security will check you over before letting you go to your plane.
Call or visit anyone in the health profession, you’ll need to show a valid ID and give your date of birth before anyone will talk with you.
Launch any system or app, you can’t just do anything, you need permission to get into certain functions.
When someone tries to hack into your account or computer, hopefully something stops them.
All of these and more are examples of submission. We submit all the time without thinking about it. If you think I’m wrong, think about how you feel when someone cuts in line ahead of you when you’ve been waiting patiently. When people don’t submit, everyone gets upset and eventually will lash out.
While submission might be an unpopular topic with us, God’s interested in something more than just blind submission and obedience to a list. The Pharisees had more lists and rules than you could shake a stick at. They were the kings of submission, but only on the outside. Inside they were full of greed, self-indulgence, and everything unclean[2].
Jesus, who fulfilled all the laws in the Old Testament[3], obeyed all the lists. And yet, there was a humbleness about him. He was deeply interested in demonstrating God’s loving compassion and grace. He did this because he knew that God the Father “desires mercy, not sacrifice”[4].
If you are a follower of Jesus, we are to demonstrate our submission to the Lord by also submitting to governmental authorities. This may not be a popular thing to say, but that doesn’t make it a lie or error. If Jesus hadn’t submitted to the authorities, where would we be? There would be no crucifixion for the payment of our sins. His resurrection wouldn’t have been witnessed by Roman soldiers. We’d still be dead in our sins and trespasses and sins[5]. And that would really be alone.
Noodling Questions
What are you thinking when you catch yourself feeling alone? Explain.
Why do we assume that we can do and take care of everything?
How is letting go and giving God the right to take care of you scarry? Freeing?
[2] Matthew 23:25-28
[3] Matthew 5:17
[4] Matthew 9:13
[5] Ephesians 2:1
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