May 1 has been International Labour Day for over... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Romans 13:1

May 1 has been International Labour Day for over 100 years. The holiday dates back to the US labour movement, which called for a general strike lasting several days from May 1, 1886. Industrial workers there began striking on that day because the old labour contracts expired on May 1 in the United States. They wanted to renegotiate and demanded an eight-hour day. On the third day of the strike, numerous police officers and striking workers were killed in an incident in Chicago. This bloody end to the strike caused people to strike on May 1 in Europe as well in the following years.

Demonstrating, protesting, striking – this is still done around the world today. And the demands are diverse. Sometimes it’s about climate change; sometimes it’s about a political situation people are dissatisfied about. In most cases, the aim is to persuade those responsible to take action. Unfortunately, this often leads to violence or attacks on police officers.

The Bible clearly rejects such civil disobedience as rebellion against the government.

The statement that God has established the government seems to contradict the idea of modern lawgiving – for example the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany states in Article 20: “All state power emanates from the people.” But, because everything the Bible says is true and binding, we should absolutely hold fast to this principle: we owe obedience to our government because God has established it.

The only exception is when believers are prevented from freely practising their faith. Only then is it true that “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Today’s reading: 1 Samuel 1:12-28 · Ephesians 4:1-10