To Obey God or to Obey Government?
Do we have to decide between obeying God or the state? What do we do in the event of a conflict between divine law and human law? How do we discern what is the right course of action?
Fortunately, most of the time we can do both.
But extreme circumstances may dictate an extreme choice.
The Russian soldier in Ukraine has a choice whether to fire on the high rise where his cousins live, or to just allow himself to be shot by his commander for refusing to fire. Or will his commander also refuse and therefore suffer the same ultimate consequence or court-martial?
COVID-19 Vaccines for Children
At another level, the (informed) parent of the 5-year-old child has a choice whether to vaccinate the child against Covid-19 because the government proclaims it, or to refuse — in the knowledge that the death rate from the vaccine is probably greater than from Covid-19 infection and that the long-term side effects of the vaccine are as yet unknown.
But it is far more problematic for the parent than the Russian soldier.
Lasting Consequences
The soldier — if he refuses to kill on government direction — must bear the consequence himself — a noble self-sacrifice.
Likewise, the parent of the 5-year-old, refusing to comply with government direction, is subject to consequential losses and restrictions and is therefore in a real sense self-sacrificing, BUT has protected the child from an uncertain and unknown future.
However, the parent of the 5-year-old, compliant with government direction, is not sacrificing self at all, but is instead risking the life of the child to an uncertain and unknown future.
Please note I am not an anti-vaxxer.
___
Originally published at Choose Life Australia. Photo by CDC on Unsplash.
Recent Articles:
3 August 2026
4.5 MINS
A former witch looking for spiritual answers in all the wrong places, Christopher Wickland has driven off a cliff, been dead for 15 minutes, and encountered Jesus in the woods. The former occultist turned Pentecostal pastor now carries a burning conviction that England needs to reclaim its Christian identity — an he's not afraid to say so.
3 August 2026
5.7 MINS
To understand Neo-Marxism, we first need to understand the realities of Marxism. Not the politically cleaned up propaganda version, but the brutal realities of the lives, and deaths, of those who lived and died under it.
3 August 2026
5.2 MINS
An unholy alliance between secular progressives and Islamists is reshaping the West. But the two movements operate from fundamentally different moral universes — and one is far better equipped to win the long game.
3 August 2026
2.8 MINS
Joel Phillips didn't hand his son a screen — he handed him an opportunity. Now seven-year-old Miles' catchy tune "Eastern Rosellas" has gone viral, proving imagination and dad-time are a powerful combination.
31 July 2026
5.9 MINS
It's been 44 years since Keith Green's death in a tragic plane crash, but “his legacy of love for God and love for the lost still lives on to this day.” His uncompromising cross-shaped Christianity is as relevant today as it was over four decades ago.
31 July 2026
5.8 MINS
The Trump administration has cut $67 million of taxpayer funding for controversial “radical leftist sex ed” programs in favour of solid curriculum that emphasises abstinence and marriage.
30 July 2026
4.7 MINS
Tim Kirk isn't just the chief winemaker at Clonakilla, celebrated as one of Australia’s finest wineries. After a dramatic spiritual encounter filled him with the love of Jesus, he incorporates his faith into all of life and is on a mission to share God with others — and often as a result of his profession.
