Obeying God Rather Than Men
When people in authority asks us to do something, we either comply because we know if we don't, we will get in trouble or we do it because we believe what they are saying or asking of us is truly for our good. The Fourth Commandment - "Honor your father and mother" is extended to teachers and other persons in authority. We must respect and honor our elders and listen to what they have to say, but we must make a decision whether what they are saying is congruent and consistent with what God may be telling us and if what they say point to the true, good, and beautiful. We are not called to just blindly follow and do whatever persons in authority tell us or ask of us - we must discern it and bring it to prayer. In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:27-33), the Apostles were again found preaching the Good News and telling people about Jesus and the authority figures said to them: "We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name." An...