A Thought For The Week Of November 5

Yesterday was a busy day, and I just didn't get around to it, but here's my thought for the week: "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) It struck me as appropriate to think about this verse on a day when the United States is electing its president. Without a king, Israel descended into chaos and lawlessness. There was no sense of community; no sense of shared responsibility or mutual accountability. It was anarchy. Belief in God and trusting God to lead simply wasn't enough. That's why I reject the idea of both Christian anarchism (which essentially argues that the state is bad and we should simply have allegiance to God) and theocracy (which basically says that we have to follow whatever rules are imposed by the "believers" who are in charge of the state and who declare their beliefs to be God's will. Both are possible; both are dangerous. There's a role for the state, and the New Testament is pretty clear about that. Jesus paid his taxes after all, and Paul notes that the state serves as God's agent. Government isn't perfect, and we always need to be on our guard against those who would abuse the levers of power in order to abuse those who are subject to those levers. As Christians we celebrate the freedom God has given us, and - if we're fortunate enough to live in one of the world's democracies - we should be celebrating that freedom as well. Let's never take either God or freedom for granted. Have a great week!