Undeserved Honor

Undeserved Honor

Show respect for everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God. Show respect for the king. (1 Peter 2:17)

WHEN PETER told Christians to “show respect for the king,” do you know who the king was at that time? It was Nero, in the latter years of his reign.

Born in A.D. 37, Nero became emperor of the Roman Empire in 54. The first five years of his reign were known for their sound and orderly administration because Nero allowed the philosopher Seneca and Burrus, the commander of the Praetorian guard, to rule the empire for him. Able men, appointed no doubt by Seneca and Burrus, governed the provinces with wisdom.

Nero’s troubles began in 58 when a devious woman named Poppaea set her sights on him, becoming his mistress. The Roman historian Tacitus described her as having every gift of nature except an honorable mind. Under her influence Nero gradually threw off all restraints, ignored the advice of his wise counselors, and plunged into immorality and crime.

Poppaea first induced Nero to murder his own mother. Then when Burrus died in 62, she forced Seneca to retire from the imperial court, thereby removing all traces of their formerly orderly rule. Poppaea next persuaded Nero to divorce his wife and marry her. Nero then had his first wife murdered and her head brought to Poppaea. However, Poppaea got a taste of her own medicine in 65, when Nero in a rage kicked her in her pregnant belly, killing her.

Nero’s excesses exhausted the Roman treasury and were the beginning of the Roman Empire’s decline into bankruptcy. He surrounded himself with greedy, arrogant men. The situation deteriorated rapidly in 64 when a fire destroyed over half of the city of Rome. In response to rumors that he had started the fire to free space for his megalomaniac building plans, Nero placed the blame instead on the Christians of Rome. Thus began the first systematic persecution of Christians. They were arrested in large numbers and subjected to unspeakable atrocities. The Roman historian Tacitus reported, “Some were covered with the skins of wild animals and then torn apart by dogs, some were crucified, some were burned as torches to light at night.” These were the very Christians to whom Paul had written his epistle just seven years earlier. Evidence indicates that both the apostle Peter and the apostle Paul were martyred by Nero as part of this persecution.

As Nero became more and more consumed by his despotism, sensuality, and delusions of grandeur, the Roman provinces accelerated their demands that he be removed as caesar. His buffoonery hit new heights when he went to Greece to compete in the Greek games and because he was caesar was allowed to win every contest. In the end Nero lost his will to live and did nothing to stop the growing rebellion against him. He ended his own tragic life by committing suicide on June 9, A.D. 68.

In spite of Nero’s despicable character, Peter commanded his fellow believers to honor and respect the king. Christians are to show respect for the king, regardless of how bad things get.

Reflection

How are you doing at honoring the elected officials with whom you disagree? Think of the elected official you like the least, and determine how you can apply the command to “show respect for the king” (1 Peter 2:17). As Christians we are to be responsible citizens of our community, state, and nation. To show respect for the king does not mean to condone everything elected officials do, but it does mean to respect the office they hold.

For the Lord’s sake, accept all authority—the king as head of state, and the officials he has appointed.

1 Peter 2:13-14