Weighing the verses

Followers of the Bible sometimes have to weigh the messages of conflicting verses. For instance In the 1930s and 40s German authorities reminded believers that Romans 13 admonished them to submit to those in authority. Most obediently watched as their Jewish neighbors, co-workers and friends lost their civil rights including the right to practice their professions, their citizenship and then disappeared. German citizens lived through the Night of Broken Glass when the government underscored its antagonism against the Jews. In the subsequent weeks, months and years the Christians saw Jewish neighbors forcefully removed from their homes and taken away legally under the newly passed laws. Any who protected the Jews could be arrested for breaking the law. In the government supported churches, congregations received reminders that Romans chapter 13 specifically says to obey those in authority because God ordains the ones in charge. So pay your taxes, don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t fraudulently use monies entrusted to you and help fight the war. Thus, in Nazi Germany, members of the state funded churches agreed to “not interfere with the state’s elimination of the Jews, the gypsies, the disabled, Slavic people or political dissidents.” The majority obeyed the authorities. They looked away during the arrests and loading of cattle cars. However, a few did not. Like the Israelite midwives under the Pharaoh they resisted. With an eye to reducing the Israelite’s growing population the Pharaoh told the Israelite midwives, “when you see a boy is born, kill him.” The midwives did not obey. They protected the infants. God blessed these women for the decision to disobey the highest authority in the land. As Nazism spread across Europe, citizens in each country determined their response. Common sense said to keep your head down and keep out of the way. Some shook their heads and said, “We will not do what you say,” just like Peter and the apostles said to the leaders of their time. The leaders detained the apostles for talking about Christ and healing folks. As they sat in jail that night, an angel came and released them. He told them, “Go stand in the temple and tell the people all about this new life.”They did. Again the apostles were dragged before the high priest. He said, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name.” “We have to obey God, rather than man.” The apostles did not want to upset the rulers. They just knew they had to keep speaking about and demonstrate the love of Christ.Similarly under the Nazi regime in Holland, Corrie Ten Boom and her family heard the Nazis laws after they took over the Netherlands. “Turn in the Jews, do not shelter them.” The German authorities expected all to follow their deathly laws. While some copied the response of the midwives and protected the innocent, not all did. In “The Hiding Place,” Corrie Ten Boom asked her pastor to take a Jewish baby into his home. He stepped back in horror, “My family could die if we were found with this child.” Corrie found another place to shelter the infant. The preacher chose to follow Romans 13 even if it meant a baby’s death. Others secretly defied the authorities and helped that child and others in danger to escape. The Ten Boom family joined others secretly doing as the midwives had done under Pharaoh: They defied those in authority to obey a greater authority and protect lives.The nation of Israel now recognizes those protectors as The Righteous Among the Nations: those who chose life for others over blind obedience to a dictator. Not an easy choice, just a life saving decision.