Doing Government While Awaiting the Coming Kingdom

It is all about the coming Kingdom, as the prophecy indicates:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Likewise, Jesus tells us to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). For this reason, Christians must not put their trust in earthly kingdoms and human governments. Indeed, because of our pervasive depravity, our idealized governments will always fall short and will never, ever offer redemption or societal salvation.

Nonetheless, governments are ordained by God to accomplish certain purposes while we await the passing away of this present evil age. For example, St. Paul indicates that governments are ordained by God to execute justice (Romans 13:1-7). On a more positive note, Paul indicates elsewhere that we should pray for government leaders so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives (1 Timothy 2:1-7). Underlying this discussion is the Christian's mission to propagate the Gospel: we should pray for good governance so that our Christian mission might not be impeded.

Christians, however, are not commanded to be passive in terms of involvement in government. A primary example of someone called into government is the Old Testament prophet Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who were given high positions of authority in the Babylonian government. In their respective capacities, they were to use their authority for the greater social good, even though they were looking forward to an everlasting kingdom (Daniel 4:34-35).

A more comprehensive understanding of these and other passages inform us that in our American democracy, so long as we can participate in the democratic process, we should work to make government better and more conducive to the ideals of the coming Kingdom. Our Founding Fathers understood this and encapsulated it in our founding documents when they wrote,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Meanwhile, while we strive for better government, we look for that city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10).