No matter how much a person wants to feel like a “free person, ” who “does not bow to authorities, ” one cannot do without authorities. After all, even the “own opinion”, which people who consider themselves independent, are so proud of, is formed under someone’s influence. Believers are no exception.
The person whose opinion this person is guided by is called a "reference person" in psychology. The circle of reference persons is as individual as personal qualities, and yet you can indicate some features that are characteristic of certain social groups - in particular, for believers.
God as a reference person
A feature of the circle of reference persons inherent in the personality of a Christian is the fact that the "center" of this circle is outside of humanity. No matter how much a Christian respects a person, God will always be the highest authority for him.
Especially painful is the situation when the authority of God comes into conflict with the authority of significant close people, especially parents. This happened, for example, with the holy Great Martyr Barbara Iliopolskaya: the pagan father publicly renounced his Christian daughter, gave her to torment, and even executed him with his own hands.
Of course, God extremely rarely tells people his opinion directly - not with every saint this happened, what can we say about ordinary people. Fortunately, there is Holy Scripture, where the opinion of God regarding certain human actions is quite clearly and clearly stated. After all, these actions are not so diverse: all people have desires, look for ways to satisfy them, love and hate, quarrel and make peace. In the commandments given by God to humanity, one can find an adequate assessment of any action.
