JMD Devotional 210 Titus 3:1-7 Poor Relationship to Power

REMIND PEOPLE to be submissive to [their] magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work, to slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle, and conciliatory), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody. For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit, Which He poured out [so] richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. [And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope.

The salvation that God engineered for us required nothing tangible from us and it had to be so. Had we performed some work, our sense of earning our salvation would have corrupted our spirit. Our relationship to power is not very good this side of perfection. Our natural inclination is to resent any power over us; and to abuse our power over others. We inherently compete with those of equivalent power, trying to get the upper edge. But the fruit of this is an ugly attitude. When we submit to God, and to every other power that He has placed over us, the godly adornment of humility comes as a special grace. Again, if we try to earn it, it just becomes vile self-abasement in which we are still in charge. We respond righteously to God’s power when we fully submit to it.

Dear God,
Power is an intoxicant that men and women do not handle very well. When we feel deprived of it; our attitudes become very ugly. Please cleanse me of the resentment, bitterness and malice that even now shows up when my goals are blocked or my plans are frustrated. Forgive me for the countless times I have rashly criticized my superiors. I believe that, as always, You have a better way to deal with these things. Temper my spirit and help me not to easily take offense, to be more flexible. Grant me the grace to genuinely respect and support and serve those with power over me; acknowledging that they could not have it except that it has been given to them from above.
Amen

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