There is a T-shaped controlled stop near my house that I encounter every day while leaving and returning home to my house. I have a full view of the other roads upon approaching the stop. Obviously, when anyone arrives at the stop around the same time, I stop and obey the sign.

And equally obviously (after looking carefully), I do not obey the stop sign when no one is there.

And neither should you.

Why?

Because signs exist to serve people. People do not exist to serve signs. This is also true of laws more broadly: they exist to serve the interests of God and people, not the other way around.

The worst atrocities in the history of humanity have come at the hands of institutionalized tyranny, not the lone-ranger anarchist. Wicked rulers have sought to weaponize the consciences of their people for their benefit and to ignore that historical reality is risky, reckless, and foolish.

I fully appreciate the dangers on both sides of such a statement. They are real and must be taken seriously. But neither unquestioning obedience nor unquestioned disobedience is worthy of people bearing the image of God. Life is a war, and in war, you take risks that you would otherwise avoid in peacetime. Calculated intentional risk-taking is not optional. It is the path of obedience.

Ignoring the stop sign is practice for cultivating resistance to other forms of thoughtlessness that cost much more.

What’s your stop sign?