91 Days of Victory – Day 82 (2026/05/20)

 

Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. We are reading Psalm 82 and in essence it serves as a divine critique of corrupt leadership. Leaders are appointed by God and placed in these positions by the Lord. What they do with that responsibility boils down to their choices and decisions they make.

It is imperative that we honour our leaders even is they are corrupt or bad. Romans 13:1-2: Instructs us to be subject to governing authorities, noting that "there is no authority except that which God has established."

1 Peter 2:17: Commands us to "Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor". (Written during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero, showing that honour is expected regardless of a leader's righteousness.) 

These scriptures are best understood alongside teachings of humility, such as Philippians 2:3, which tells us to "value others above yourselves". Biblical submission and honour are generally practiced within the boundaries of following God's commands, as leaders ultimately answer to Him for how they shepherd those under their care.

This brings us back to Psalm 82 and in context it connects us to the New Testament (John 10:34–36), where Jesus quotes Psalm 82 to defend His claim as the Son of God. He uses the psalm's premise - that humans who received God's word and authority were called "gods" - to argue that His own claim to be God's Son is valid and consistent with the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Now, when leaders are bad or wicked we should remain respectful towards them, but we can lay our concerns before God and ask Him to guide our leaders in their tasks and decisions. Ultimately God can remove any leader or person from their position of authority when He wants. We as Christians must remain obedient to the Word and honour our leaders regardless. Honouring our leaders creates spiritual growth, peace and shows respect to God’s established order and in this lies a reward in our own growth and what God commands us to do. That also has a reward in our eternal life with the Lord.

My dear friend, we must honour our leaders and respect them and then we will see God’s hand upon them and in our own lives.

Have an awesome day.