When they were summoned by the members of the religious and civil tribunal of ancient Palestine to stop proclaiming the good news of salvation, and especially the name of Jesus, the 29th verse of the 5th chapter of the Book of Acts of the Apostles tells us that "Peter and the other apostles replied, 'We must obey God, not men." (the Good News Bible with Deuterocanonical Books 20O4)
This firm choice should not be confused with an act of defiance. Indeed, those driven by a project greater than themselves can only proclaim what they know. Common sense would dictate that when we have the means to campaign for truth and justice, we should not be content to proclaim the opposite to satisfy the demands of a group of individuals who have not received the same grace.
The proclamation of God's salvation is not an act of defiance. He who places himself at His service, is invested with a mission that requires concrete actions, in all areas of a life punctuated by acts denoting an unconsciousness manifested by acts that do not glorify the name of God. Indeed, when we have the grace to have the fear of God, we are always inclined to do good; this is the reason why, if the world tells us to do the opposite, we will not do it because others do not always know what we know. Those who arrested Saint Peter and the Others did not really know what they had witnessed. Even today, many are always ready to inveigh and condemn what they do not really know or understand, because they have not had this grace. Hence their hostility sometimes towards those who proclaim in various ways, a salvation that they have had the grace to receive spiritually and to see concretely.
The basic principle is clear, and it consists of obeying God first. Anyone who witnesses something, must act on the basis of what he has seen, heard, and received, and not on the basis of what people want him to believe, or lead him to believe, based on what they have not seen, heard, nor received. The basic principle requires self-confidence, strengthened by the grace of the One who is Himself the basis of this grace. This is necessary support in a mission that is not at all easy.
The simple fact of seeing how those who act in the rectitude of their conscience are treated, says everything about how some people are sometimes forced to become what they are not, by constantly being threatened by those who have not received the same graces. Indeed, when we know, the attitude is always different even if there are some who despite witnessing certain things, sometimes prefer for several personal reasons, to continue on a bad path, because they have interests to gain.
The respect we owe to authorities does not mean condoning what is wrong. It is when people choose to no longer follow the path of righteousness that they create discontent, which is only a consequence of provocative and unjust attitudes that foster discontent that manifests itself in places through violent acts that do not go out of the framework of justice, because when justice is threatened, there are necessarily acts that must follow in order to restore the norm. Indeed, God's justice can also manifest itself in a violent manner, when needs require it. It is not an act of defiance but rather an action undertaken in the name of a justice which require that, firstly, the rights of all be respected, secondly, that some do not make money at the expense of others, and thirdly, that people be content to do honestly what they are called to do, wherever they are, in order to allow society to function well.
To act in the opposite direction, is to refuse to listen to the moral conscience which is the voice of God, and which would like Men to obey only Him, and that his acts which are not acts of defiance towards the authorities, reflect only the truth which made them children of God, and which would like them all to contribute to things in society moving forward in the right direction, and that their testimonies of life also encourage other people to act similarly, because to obey God first, is to show Mens that we have principles of life which impose acts which aim only to glorify the Name of THE ONE who is above all that men can imagine. The One whose immensity of omnipresence no one can grasp, nor hold a monopoly on knowledge. The One whose signs of presence are found wherever there is the fear of God. The One whose exhortation to obey only Him is an invitation to respect those who live their faith in a different way than we do, because God is there too, and manifests Himself there equally concretely and powerfully.
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