Kingdom Is Where the King Is. Part II: The Just Public Servant

[Continued from Part I]

The Question: Why Democracy? 

Because. Jesus isn’t directly actively controlling the world. The Devil is. God though is allowing this. The world and the systems within it are broken. Until a perfect leader comes to rule in full power (Jesus) the things that are flawed within the system will remain including us as the flawed vessels that constitute it or make up its constitution. See what I did there? How does Jesus change this? He is perfect and embodies the Law. In him He will right things. A perfect King cannot live or accept corruption in His realm. So…he will correct it once and for all. He will judge it. The corruption will be removed and thrown in ‘prison’. The Kingdom will come to glory. Finally. 

Until then, spreading responsibility over a body of people to make a majority rule decision poses a winner-take-all scenario but it also increases the possibility of a few positive Godly influences to permeated the entire body like leaven in bread. If you relegate that to a small number of people or only one. The risk increases exponentially that the entire system will corrupt. Just as one virus (evil/illness) can kill an entire body, one white blood cell can begin the healing for an entire system (immunity from illness/evil).

The Bible didn’t directly invent the idea of democracy but in effect it pointed to ideas that aid democracy. The Bible elaborates at length on two concepts that are essential for good government. 

The First Concept Essential for Good Government: Justice

Good government must protect the vulnerable while acknowledging God for Who He (Supreme Ruler) and what He is (Justice, Love). We must protect the orphans and widows. We must be fair. If not, judgement besets the nation that doesn’t.

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Leviticus 19:9-18 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner….

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another…”

“You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God….”

“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God….”

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor... “

“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor…”

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself…”

“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God.”

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…”

You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin…”

….after every single one of these statements is the addendum which clarifies and is given for context, “I am the Lord your God.” All thoughts and actions are to be based on the understanding that God is God and He is still on His throne.

If we were truly and fearlessly honest, we’d admit that we have violated every single one of these statutes from God and deserve nothing but judgment. If our leaders including Trump and Biden did a ruthless moral inventory on themselves, they would see the same also. They are not humble enough to do so…and neither are we...no matter how much we delude ourselves to the contrary. That is why we are in such need of Christ. So now we have incurred the wrath of God in this nation. God will not bless a nation that is in overt rebellion against its true Sovereign Ruler. We slaughter the unborn and the courts steal justice from the innocent. This nation is already under its own judgment being given over to the chaos we see. That is exactly what we see in 2020. We see the judgment of a nation as all the others before us....as we race headlong to certain demise.

The United States tried to incorporate this concept of protecting the vulnerable in the Bill of Rights. The Constitution, as originally written, did not have the Bill of Rights, but James Madison pushed for its inclusion because without a Bill of Rights democracy can be just as oppressive as any other form of government. When we abandon the Bill of Rights we sprint towards tyranny/injustice again. Something God nor the founding fathers wanted.

The Second Concept Essential for Good Government: Jesus

Luke 22:25-27 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves."

Surprisingly, Jesus is illustrating here that in ungodly human governments, power is centralized. A singular set of rulers or ruler imposes their rule through coercion and the threat of force. The resources of the nation are then also centralized, and the ruler can allocate resources to preferentially and is praised for doing so. But this is not how Jesus wants things to operate. Instead of leading from the top, they are to lead from the bottom. Leaders are servants. My goodness this concept has completely evaded a majority in power and the fools that support them today. Like the Old Testament during the time of the Judges we are seeking a king. The exact opposite of what we should be looking for. We should be looking for and voting for a servant. Someone that might have coercive power, privileges or perks but acts as if they do not. Someone that does not act from a position of superiority. Instead, leaders simply serve and do what is best for others. I honestly don’t know whether it is possible for a human national government to operate like that, but this appears to be what the Bible describes.

Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.

That is the way Church was to be run. A nation as one unified congregation of servants.

Most American churches like the United States have borrowed the concepts of democracy. We vote for leaders. Some churches have gone beyond democracy to something closer to the way of Jesus though. Instead of elections where two candidates vie for a church position, fostering a system of winners and losers, many churches have a system of congregational discernment resulting in a slate of recommended leaders, all of whom are affirmed together by the congregation over time. Instead of majority-rule votes, which inevitably cause anxiety for the minority, many congregations do not move ahead with a decision until they have reached biblical consensus (or as close to one as possible). In churches those seeking to rightfully follow Jesus’ way, leaders are not given special privileges or prestige; instead, all are treated as equals, and leaders serve for the purpose of benefiting the congregation, not themselves.

As best as I can discern from the Scriptures, Jesus tells us this is our best form of government while we await His return.

I am okay with the United States being a democracy, and I am glad I live in the United States. But it is not the kingdom of God. As a Christian I call on the government to live up to its Bill of Rights and to do an ever-better job of protecting the vulnerable. As a Christian I call on the government to use as little violence and coercion as possible, and I suggest that the best way to lead is to serve. But as a Christian I call on the church—not the United States government to truly be God’s government in this world. For now the US Constitution is fine…as long as there is dog-eared Bible laying on or next to it.