“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Romans 13:1

When I was 14 years old, I attended a Bible camp during Confirmation. It was located on an isolated island, only accessible by boat, in an Archipelago in Southern Sweden. The island was creatively named Kyrkö which means “church island.” On the island, there was only a church and a camp and nothing else! 

During camp, we had multiple Bible study sessions with breaks in between. During one of our sessions, the Pastor explained that we would take a 20-minute break at the end. He told us he expected us to return on time to begin the next session.  He also said if we were late, we would have to peel a pound of potatoes for every minute we were late. 

When the session was over, the whole class went outside to play soccer in a beautiful rock-filled meadow and soak up some of the glorious sunshine. We were having such a good time that it was hard to walk back into the classroom for the next session. But we also knew that we did not have to hurry because the Pastor saw how much fun we were having and had joined us as we played soccer out in the field. After a few minutes, the Pastor said, “Okay, let’s head back inside and continue the lesson!” 

Once we were all seated in the classroom, the Pastor announced we were all four minutes late and said we each had to peel four pounds of potatoes before dinner! We were all stunned and looked at each other in disbelief. One of my classmates protested and said, “Pastor, you were late too!”  The Pastor responded by saying, “You are correct, I will also peel four pounds of potatoes. No one is above the law, not leaders, not soccer players, nor pastors. We all must live by example and by God’s teachings. He set forth his rules for all of us, not just some of us!”

Prayer: Dear God, Help us to remember that we are all Children of God and we have a duty to love one another and lead our lives by example. Give us the courage to be honest, live with integrity, and stand up against injustice. Help us to bring light to others in times of need. In Your name we pray, Amen.