Matthew 21:14-15 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,
God works through leaders. There are plenty of scriptures that talk about leadership and many examples, good and bad, in the Word. God has ordained leadership. Godly leaders lead in the Jesus style. Wise leaders serve others. Spiritual leaders can put others first and still lead.
I know that some people will lump all leaders into one bunch assuming that anyone who leads has ill intentions, but that is just as great an error as the control and manipulation that they attribute to leaders in general. Religion’s chief aim is to perpetuate itself and to keep people subservient to rules, laws and even its chosen leaders. Religion is never pleased with someone getting glory other than its recognized leaders. Legalistic, religious leaders want to keep control and keep others from having power.
Some of the best understanding I ever received came from reading Watchman Nee’s book titled Spiritual Authority. Paraphrasing, it says that submission is absolute but obedience is relative. Having a submissive heart attitude is supposed to be standard issue for a believer. Regardless of the character of the leader it is essential that we maintain a submissive attitude. According to Romans 13, all authority comes from God, so our response to earthly authority is to be tempered with the understanding that earthly authorities are ordained by God. That is, they draw their authority from God’s authority because all authority belongs to Him.
