Submissiveness to bad authority

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RyanClearwater

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Have a question Jesus talk about being submissive. I have a problem with submissiveness because I feel like the authority figures in my life were neglectful, abusive and misleading and when I was submissive I was treated very bad and manipulated and treated like a very weak guy. . Just don’t see Jesus being a punching bag to anyone. Should we be submissive to bad authority or respect them?
 
Only submissive to God not to devil, ‘the worldly’ authorities. So was I taught and thought. But unless you have a tremendous faith in God, it is virtually impossible to ignore the mean and petty superiors since our worldly life is controlled by them or the devil in them too.
 
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Doesn’t god say to just be submissive in character? Or attitude ? Our we supposed to do that to abusive authority?
 
Doesn’t god also say that the leaders are put there by him?
 
RyanClearwater said:
Have a question Jesus talk about being submissive. I have a problem with submissiveness because I feel like the authority figures in my life were neglectful, abusive and misleading and when I was submissive I was treated very bad and manipulated and treated like a very weak guy. . Just don’t see Jesus being a punching bag to anyone. Should we be submissive to bad authority or respect them?
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You can be submissive in a prudent way that doesn’t involved getting walked on. As to bad authority they should be ignored and walked away from.
 
Don’t be a doormat. God gave us brains and we should use them.
 
You don’t have to obey a command, even from a lawful superior, if it’s sinful.

Now the question remains, who is a lawful authority over you?

Also, there’s the issue of how you behave around authority—simply obeying doesn’t make you a doormat. Is your body language shrinking and fearful?

For instance, if you’re a waiter at a restaurant, your job is literally to serve. However, is your back held straight and you look people in the eye and you behave with confidence that you know your job and can correct any mistakes along the way?
Or do you mumble and avoid eye contact and seem overly anxious to please and dissolve into tears and panic if something goes wrong?
 
I don’t think CATHOLOCISM lends itself so apparently to ideas like submissiveness. At least not in some bright line and simple sense.
The faith is replete with paradoxes. Jesus came as the King of Kings. The world understands Kings and power via trappings of royalty and power for example. Jesus Christ came as a helpless infant we see in a manger in a dwelling meant for livestock.
Other religions have God’s that exist in earthly trappings of power who demand and consume offers of sacrifice. Our deity is food for us.
Jesus died a forgiving victim. Seemingly naked and powerless on the cross. The paradox being in the way of the Cross which is dying in order to be ressurrected to eternal life. Dying to live another paradox.
Or Jesus as warrior while battling with love.
A great deal of CATHOLOCISM involves rethinking and contemplating ideas like submissiveness to a larger fuller one
 
Jesus submitted to death on a cross.

God has the power to end the world today; he detracts from that power. That too is submissive.

The Holy Spirit pours himself out to humans when one is baptized by will of self or guardian; that is submissive. That’s the same as serving someone a French fry after they put in an order.

The story about paying the Temple Tax is good background for this. It takes into account the worldly authorities’ will; God’s will; and the question you pose.

Jesus was at odds with worldly authority.

Many worldly authorities are not in accord with God’s will. The things you do at your job are probably not all that in accord with God’s will. That’s just the way it is; no one is going to develop a system to get around that problem. So, you just live in the world and practice your faith; that’s all you can really do.
 
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Too much government can even be illegitimate. Yet, we can’t be afraid to take the whip out and run them out when they are perpetrating their schemes in Holy Places (which is anywhere you may step foot).
 
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RyanClearwater said:
I feel like the authority figures in my life were neglectful, abusive and misleading and when I was submissive I was treated very bad and manipulated and treated like a very weak guy
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Ryan, nobody is supposed to be abused and neglected. It doesn’t matter if it’s your family, friends, boss, or the Church.

I would suggest seeing a counselor in conjunction with a trusted Priest if you’ve suffered a lifetime of mistreatment.
 
RyanClearwater said:
. Just don’t see Jesus being a punching bag to anyone.
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Jesus often spoke about how we ought react to mistreatment from others.

He demonstrated it in His passion. There is an old hymn “He Could Have Called 10,000 Angels” the next line is “to destroy the world and set Him free”. He was stripped naked, beat within an inch of His life, His beard was pulled out by the roots, He was spat upon, mocked, ridiculed. Jesus did not cry out against His tormentors.

Remember, blessed are we when we are treated badly for so they treated Christ before us.
 
RyanClearwater said:
Should we be submissive to bad authority or respect them?
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We should be submissive when we are asked to do anything that doesn’t violate God’s law. We should respectfully decline anything that does. Those who hold authority are only authorized to a legitimate use of it that serves the common good rather than themselves. Anything like neglect, abuse, misleading and manipulating are an abuse of the authority they hold and we need not be subject to it. We can say no. We can set boundaries they must respect. We can walk away and not let them be a part of our lives. You know what is right from wrong and when an authority is doing wrong you have the moral authority to call them out on it.
 
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