What If?

What if Paul was not saying to "obey Rome?" What would he be saying? I mean at first glance he couldn't possibly be saying anything else could he? Didn't Paul always obey the civil authorities? Or was he thrown into prison for disobeying the government? Wait, wasn't he whipped and stoned too? Wasn't Paul eventually killed by the governing civil authority and power?

Maybe Paul suffered all of these things because he failed to heed his own advice. After all, if he would have just subjected himself to Roman civil rulers, he would have lived his life in peace.

What if Paul was not advocating blanket submission to the state? What was he advocating?