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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. Romans 13:1-2
It's less than a week until the 4th of July - Independence Day. To me, this day will always bring thoughts of Lee Greenwood's classic "I'm Proud To Be an American," but I confess that I feel differently this year. I'm not really sure that I AM proud to be an American anymore.
With multiple happenings over the course of the past few days, I am more convinced than ever that the America I want to claim as home no longer exists. I am at once saddened and disgusted and angered by our out-of-control government. And if I am going to be truthful here, I must also admit I'm a little frightened at what I'm seeing. It's not that I believe any of this is out of God's control, but there will be consequences to our country - unpleasant ones - and I do not relish that thought at all.
As a Christian, I know that God's Word has much to say about how we are to relate to governing authorities. I have only posted a couple of verses from Romans 13 above, but that chapter, as well as other biblical passages, give us some very specific instructions on how we are to submit to the government.
In biblical times, the governments that existed were of an imperial nature - the heads of government were "rulers" (kings, emperors, etc.) and the people were their "subjects". These were clearly defined roles. Obedience to the authority was the requirement of the people. It was akin to the relationship between slave and master. Thus, submission to rulers (and to masters, as well) was a key topic of Scripture with regard to Christian living.
Jump forward a good many years and you find a people who leave their homelands to set up a new country where they can worship freely and have input into the governing system. (This is a bit of a simplification, I realize, but my goal here is not a history lesson, per se.) Enter the United States of America. Here is a nation set up with a government that is designed to be run by the people, for the people... With systems of checks and balances to prevent any one person or group of people from exercising too much power... Based on regular and timely votes by the people who were electing their peers to speak on their behalf in the government.
Herein lies my dilemma: I am struggling to reconcile my responsibilities as a Christian with my duties as an American in this current political environment.
Ours is not a government that I am by definition "subject to" but rather a government that I am "responsible for". This does not mean that I am entitled to break the law, but it does mean that if I find a law to be wrong, I am duty-bound to speak against it, and to do what is in my power to have it changed. And if the government officials are not doing what our Constitution requires of them, as a citizen of this nation, I have an obligation to do what I can to see that those officials are removed from power. I cannot wrap my brain around exactly what that means. But I know that from the founders of this nation, I have been given this responsibility.
From the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. (emphasis mine)
I don't have any answers here today. What I have is a lot of questions. I do know that I find it more and more torturous daily to read the news, yet I find it more and more important. I feel a strong sense of urgency about what is happening in our nation. All I know to do is to seek God in His Word and in prayer, and I pray that whatever He calls me to do, I will be ready.
They may be a little jumbled today, but these are...
Just some thoughts...
