When Disobedience Becomes a Virtue!

Fr. Francis Scaria

When the Peter and the apostles were asked why in spite of being given a strong warning not to preach in the name of Jesus, they continued to preach in his name, they justified their disobedience saying, “We ought to obey God rather than men”. This is a specific situation where disobedience is justified and even mandatory. There are various realms of obedience. Obedience to God comes above obedience to our parents or superiors. If the obedience to superiors or parents goes contrary to what God demands from us, then we are to disobey our superiors or parents in that particular matter. This, of course, does not provide us with a justification for disobeying everything that the parents or superiors may ask us to say or do.

One thing is clear. A Christian cannot go against his/ her conscience or against God. When obedience to God means disobedience to a human authority, there is a possibility of persecution. In the life Daniel of the Old Testament we see this happening. In the Second Book of Maccabees we find the seven brothers and their mother undergoing torture and martyrdom for disobeying the king in order not to transgress the laws of their ancestors. Only the courageous can bear with such persecutions for their convictions.