As We Have Opportunity

We are sometimes asked whether the apostle Paul would have voted, if he was given the opportunity. We know that Paul viewed himself as a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20), and he often did not make use of his Roman citizenship. He certainly viewed the nations of the earth as temporary, and like the other apostles, he surely was unconcerned by who occupied Caesar’s throne, for his allegiance was to God rather than man (Acts 5:29). For these reasons, it’s easy for some to assume that Paul – and other early Christians – would not have voted.

On the other hand, Christians are called to excel in all aspects of their lives. Whether as parents/children, husbands/wives, masters/slaves, or any other social relationship, Christians are called to honor God and live faithfully. Rather than renouncing the social order, God calls his people to whole-heartedly embrace their duties. Every social relationship is an opportunity to demonstrate the value of Christ and to show love to our fellow-man.

And what about the civic sphere? While Christians are ultimately citizens of heaven (that is the citizenship which supersedes all others!), that does not deny that they have citizenship on earth. Paul himself had (and at times took advantage of) his Roman citizenship. In the ancient world, few individuals were ‘citizens.’ They were instead merely ‘subjects.’ (Citizenship was a special privilege of the elite.) Unlike the duties of modern citizens, the duties of ancient subjects were simple. A good subject was one who obeyed his sovereign unquestioningly and gave him appropriate honor.

The New Testament does not negate these duties of a subject, but in fact reinforces them. Peter calls his listeners to,

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good…Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:13-14, 17)

In short, Peter urges his readers to be model subjects, fulfilling all the duties of Roman subjects, but with one small caveat. They must do it ‘for the Lord’s sake’ – meaning that their obedience must not contradict their Christian calling. Emperor worship, involvement in pagan religious ceremonies, and any other connection with paganism must be rejected. But in every other way, they are called to be model subjects.

Paul also urged obedience to governing authorities in Romans 13. Far from diminishing their importance, he called them ‘ministers of God’ (Romans 13:6). He called on his audience to pay them ‘respect’ and ‘honor’ (13:7).

Democratic republics are a far cry from ancient empires. Modern citizenship involves much more than obedience to the law; ideally, a modern citizen is one who remains educated, understands the constitution, votes regularly, and serves the community selflessly. This, I think, is what we are called to as Christians: to excel in our citizenship on earth. Not because it is eternal, but because it is a human institution which gives us opportunity to serve others by doing good.

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone…” Ancient subjects had little opportunity to ‘do good’ through civic obedience, but today our abilities are much expanded. Voting is one of the ways that we can ‘do good’ – by making wise choices. Elections are not terribly significant things; those in power have much less sway than we imagine, and presidents are never the saviors that people think they are. However, the selection of good officials can still create genuine improvements in a society. Through proper application of justice, punishment of evil and approval of good, society can be improved through governance.

Voting sometimes involves difficult moral questions. Who should we choose when we don’t agree with either candidate for an office? Sometimes we must choose the better candidate. Other times, if conscience cannot approve either, we can still vote to fill the many other offices. Government does not depend only on a single individual – many offices must be filled regularly, and that requires discerning voting.

Politics has a reputation for being a nasty busy, and it certainly involves difficult decisions. Don’t let this dissuade you from getting involved. It is still a unique opportunity that you have to ‘do good.’

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