Torch, Spring/Summer 2008

Our submission carries a burden unfelt by Paul’s readers. The Roman Empire was a sprawling colossus under the command of a single man. The Roman Christians had little to no opportunity to influence the direction of this City of Man, so while they were required to submit, their collective and individual responsibility for the regime’s actions was negligible or non-existent. Nero was unjust, unwilling to bear the sword as God’s agent of wrath, and ungodly in his behavior, so his divine punishment was his own. We have no such luxury in our form of government. While our responsibility surely varies based on a myriad of circumstances, our government acts in our name, for it is only with our blessing, either implicit or explicit, that it continues. Our government’s good and the divine blessing that it brings, as well as its evil and the divine punishment that follows, are ours to revel in or bear. Though we cannot pretend to have the ability to control policy in a pluralistic, fractured system like ours, we do have the opportunity, based on our freedoms and rights, to attempt to influence the system. This is the blessing and curse of being a Christian in a representative republic. While we could falter under this burden, it should motivate us to act. A refusal to participate in our messy, fallen, sometimes godless world of politics is a tacit approval of government’s actions. Though examples are not numerous, Scripture does provide instances of believers who, when given the opportunity to intervene in political decision-making, did so to God’s glory. Esther, Joseph, and Daniel used their of the United States. In this narrow sense, this majestic document, which defines our government, functions as our Caesar, for it is supreme and stands in judgment above all political and legal actions within our nation. This narrow sense, though, is too narrow and fails to see the animating principle behind the Constitution’s creation. Our constitutional republic, as envisioned by our founders, finds its authority in the people. It is by the people’s actions that our Constitution came into being (“We the people”) and through them that all of our constitutional officers are either directly or indirectly chosen. Our leaders make decisions only after we grant them the power to do so. Submission in the American context, then, is a willingness to bend our knees to our fellow citizens. 6 TORCH