Jesus on the cross. Photo: pexels.com
The looming local elections ensure our local paper has plenty of reading fodder, reflections for consideration, and candidate promises to weigh. It’s an interesting time and I’m looking forward to casting my votes in the coming weeks. The weight of democracy falls on the weak shoulders of the people and we would do well to bear it as best we can.
I particularly enjoyed Mary Anne Gill’s line last week reporting on one public meeting; “Council communications staff put such a positive spin on it [the Waipa Residents Survey] that those who had already read it went back to check if they had the right version.”
See: Rolls, rhetoric and wrybills
Phil Strong
Democracy offers a system where “rule by the people” decides representation – often shaped by agendas, certainly dictated by needs, always, and only, resolved by participation. We, the people, have an opportunity to hold past candidates to account for their actions and assess the hopeful promises of those offering their services.
And yet, the world wasn’t designed by democracy nor is it governed as such. Yes, many boards are elected while some stand uncontested, and that’s the risk of democracy.
Our world is being created continuously, ruled silently, and protected by One that we did not elect. There is a single, sovereign power that had the first say at the beginning of time and will have the last say at the end of time.
Lean in, dear reader, and listen closely. Whether you choose to bend your knee now, or not, determines how and where your life goes. But make no mistake, there will come a reckoning where your choice brings to bear the eternal weight of that decision.
A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, and even myself have been quoted often as saying, “Either Jesus is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.” Lord is personal and remains a choice. Sovereign King, however, is not determined by democracy.
The personal choice of who is Lord commonly defaults without decision, resulting in self-determined direction and self-appointed lordship. “My body, my choice” is a statement of lordship. “My will, my way” another. But my personal un-favourite is, “I’ll live my life based on how I feel, not what someone else says.”
The misconceived anomaly of the Christian faith is that losing one’s personal lordship results in a life where there is little enjoyment and too many rules to follow. It is true, according to scripture, that the gate to eternal, abundant life is narrow and few choose it – conversely, the path to destruction is wide and well-travelled. Jesus Christ says choosing to lose one’s life is the only way it becomes possible to gain the life we were created to live.
The paradox that confounds human logic becomes the pathway that transforms human hearts.
Democracy puts burden upon us, as it should. Instead of choosing to be lord of your voting decision, why not turn yourself toward the Sovereign King who desires to lead us all? Better than leading, He desires friendship—the greatest gift life offers.
Jesus on the cross. Photo: pexels.com
