Guest Editorial
It is nearly an act of contemporary blasphemy to say out loud that the civil magistrate’s primary responsibility is to serve God. Should not the magistrate be primarily concerned with serving his constituents? What has the Almighty to do with civil authority anyway?
But the idea of “serving one’s constituents” is a proposition that has been shown to be beyond both description and definition. Does deficit spending serve one’s constituents? Or, is it an act of gross irresponsibility, ultimately bringing harm to some – if not all – of his constituents?
You can already see the problem here: The constituent being plundered by deficit spending will scream that he is not being served at all. But we can expect a rather different response from the one benefiting from the loot that was taken from his neighbor. The one benefitting from the theft will happily vote to re-elect the pillager most – if not all – of the time. That is, until a more competent politician comes along who will promise him even more of his neighbor’s property.
Thus we see how the plunder system works: Promise the voter “money for nothing.” Hope that he will never figure out that, while the toe he is eating may be tasty enough, if he will take a moment to look down at his feet, he just may notice that he doesn’t have as many toes as he used to.
But don’t forget: If those in power can convince the poor voter that the toe he is eating is actually someone else’s toe, well, then, those in power will wind up being those who stay in power. Indefinitely. Vote for me! Toes for everyone! I can supply an infinite amount of toes for my constituents as long as my constituents can supply an infinite amount of votes for me!
And so we see the impossibility of identifying “service” to one’s constituents without a standard, without a word, from the Creator. I would hope I would not have to point out that “plunder” and “service” are mutually exclusive concepts. “An easy fix,” says the benighted citizen, “The one’s being plundered can simply vote out the plundering politician. That should fix everything!”
But the politicians are way ahead of us: All they have to do is make sure that the receivers of the plunder outnumber the victims of the plunder.
It’s not good enough that one political party (Republicans, generally speaking) promises to limit the plunder that the other party (Democrats, specifically speaking) is proposing. The attack on property must be stopped. A principled politician (if any there be) will not call for better management of the plunder. Rather, he would call for the end to the plundering of anyone’s goods, rich or poor.
This brings us to the question proposed above: Whom does the magistrate serve? The answer will not be long in coming: From Paul the apostle, Romans 13:4, “For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to [execute] wrath on him who practices evil.”
You can easily see here that Paul clearly identifies the Being that the civil magistrate clearly serves, and it is not man, but God: “For he is God’s minister to you…” and “…[H]e is God’s minister, an avenger to [execute] wrath on him who practices evil.”
So it is God, in His Word, that tells us the following two things: 1) The ultimate authority to Whom he owes his ultimate allegiance (God); and 2) the reason for his office in the first place (to execute wrath on him who practices evil).
Consider: If the magistrate has a duty to please and obey God, should not that magistrate energetically study the law-book of God, the Bible? Is there a superior book anywhere else? Can there be another standard besides, or apart from, the Word of God?
It follows then, that the standard is the same both for those who would govern and for those who would choose their governors. Any other “standard” will be as flexible as it is indefinable: elusive, ethereal, and impossible.
We are beset with the masses who beg for their neighbor’s plunder. Who justify the wicked (remember the “Summer of Love”?). Who defend the wanton destruction of their unborn neighbor. What to do? Let’s stop worrying about electability, and start worrying about responsibility. Stop accepting a flexible standard and start recognizing the permanent one. Stop being concerned with the fear of man and start being concerned with the fear of God.
But, some will say, that will never work. To those I ask, “So what will work?” Or, “What has worked?” You have been electing “conservative” candidates for all these years, and what have you actually conserved?
Unhappily, I can tell you what you have “conserved”: A nation awash is perversion, tyranny, apostasy, and general wickedness. When, O when will we willingly “[R]aise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair” (George Washington)?
If not, we can only expect more of the same. Actually, not more of the same; rather, progressively worse than more of the same.
Joel Saint is pastor of Independence Reformed Bible Church in Lancaster County (irbc.church).
Joel Saint
Joel is the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society and the pastor of Independence Reformed Bible Church (www.irbc.church). Joel resides with his wife, Audrey, in Lancaster County, and has 9 grown children and 24 grandchildren (and counting).
