Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Keith Simon. Let's start with a question. In your opinion, what's the most

un-American Bible verse? What Bible verse goes against the grain of American culture? Is it John 14-6 that says the only way to God is

through Jesus? That goes against the American pluralistic culture that says all

truth is relative and that there are many paths to God.

Or what about Matthew 7.1 that says do not judge?

We hate people who judge us even as we find ourselves judging others. Those verses are both

good candidates for the most un-American Bible verse but let me throw out

another option. It's Hebrews 1317. It says this have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority because

they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. That verse is pretty clear in what it teaches. God

has given us spiritual leaders and we need to submit to their authority. Most of

us we're not good at submitting to authority. We're not good at being followers.

Whether that's in the church or government or really anywhere, we don't like to submit to

leaders.

America was founded by overthrowing a king.

We are a democratic nation where every person gets a vote

and every person, at least in theory, is equal before the law.

But it's not just our national story that makes it hard for us to trust authority,

it's also that our leaders have often failed this. Sometimes they fail us by getting things wrong.

They claim to know more than they do. John F. Kennedy

recruited what he called were the best and brightest people to be in his

presidential administration. These were purported to be the smartest people in America.

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