The Health Inspector and Authority

Mike Johnson

Many years ago, I worked in a meatpacking plant.  One responsibility I had was to roll a vat containing tubular molds of lunch-meat to an ice bin and then fill the container with ice.  The instructions were to use a stainless steel shovel, used exclusively for this task.  The plant was patrolled regularly by a health inspector.  I was told at the beginning that I should do whatever the inspector said because he had the power to shut down a production line or even the entire plant if something was not to his liking.  On one occasion, when I finished filling the ice bin, I leaned the shovel against a nearby wall with the end resting on a clean-looking cement floor.  The inspector happened by and told me that I would need to hang the shovel on the nearby hook so it would be off the floor.  I said “OK” and did what he said from that point on.

However, I could not understand the need to hang the shovel on a hook touching a wall that might not be any cleaner than the floor.  I also reasoned that the shovel and the ice never touched the food.  So did it matter that the health inspector’s instructions made little sense to me?  No, it did not; he was the authority, and I had to do what he said regardless of what I thought about his instructions.

Most people understand the importance of submitting to earthly powers.  But, sadly, many do not understand the significance of yielding to the highest authority of all — the authority of God.  The Lord is our ruler, whether we want Him to be or not.  He inherently possesses His power and receives His dominion from no one; Jehovah has authority because of who He is.  God is the creator of the universe (Gen. 1:1),  the owner (Ps. 50:10-12) and the sustainer of all things (Acts 17:25-28), and certainly has a right to have authority over humanity.  But, one may ask, “Who gave God the right to rule over people?”  A person who would say this does not understand God’s inherent authority.

Today, God remains our authority.  He has revealed Himself to us through the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 1 Thess. 2:13, 4:2, 3, 8; 1 Cor. 14:37), which are the final authority.  Therefore, our opinion on some issue does not count.  It does not matter what we think; the only question is what the Scriptures say.  Consequently, we must be content to submit ourselves to the authority of God!