Pride Goeth Before the Polls
Democracy might be very, very good. It is also bad practice for living in the Kingdom of God.
It feels fitting to start a deep dive into the legal foundation of the United States—the Constitution—by investigating the mechanism by which our nation derives all its power. The right to vote justly stands as the central tenet of American society. Our nation has committed itself to fulfilling Abraham Lincoln’s great hope: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Something of such titanic importance to the American way of life of course deserves careful attention.
Fittingly, the U.S. Constitution places voting front and center from the very beginning. Its first article establishes legislative powers, with an emphasis on how members of Congress shall be elected and in turn vote once in office. Article Two is equally explicit about our Executive’s dependence on the vote. Many of the most iconic amendments—which I always remind my students are no less a part of the Constitution than its original text—expand and protect the right to vote. One cannot even glance at our nation’s founding legal document without reckoning with the importance of voting to this country.
This devotion to democracy makes sense when considered in light of the historical moment of our nation’s founding. The American Revolution ignited after decades of oppression of the American colonies, as Thomas Jefferson exhaustively articulated in the Declaration of Independence. At the heart of American outrage against Britain was the fact that the people had no say in the laws which were placed over them. This desire to invest citizens with a voice of their own shines through every piece of the Constitution, and thus shapes both our laws and our national culture.
I am, to be clear, glad to live in a democracy. If I must be ruled over by wordly people, I appreciate the fact that my fellow citizens and I have a say in how we are governed. I am even optimistic—some would say naive—enough to think that our democratic system tends to produce more good than harm.
I just don’t like the precedent we are setting for ourselves when we consider eternity.
After all, democracy gets me used to the idea that my voice matters. I genuinely believe a persistent member of a democratic society can leverage their voice, effort and determination—and that of their peers—to affect real political change. They can work to make their country’s laws and actions more in line with their personal will.
Their will—and there’s the problem.
Democracy invites each citizen to decide how they think society should look and act. We are each invited to champion the causes we deem most important. America’s commitment to individual liberty tempts each of us to believe that our will—what we want—should be manifested in the laws of this land.
But how much does our will align with God’s? I’ll make this personal: how much does my will align with God’s? Let’s be real: if the Lord declares “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” is it even possible for my will to come close to a truly godly vision for this nation? At my absolute best—fully dependent on the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit—I can barely glimpse what God has in store. I—and all of us—can see “only a reflection” of what God intends, “as in a mirror.”
Yet Scripture promises there will come a day “when we shall see face to face,” when we shall fully know God, even as we are fully known. Jesus will return; he will rule as he was always meant to over a fully restored creation. God will make his dwelling place amongst his people; he shall wipe every tear from our eyes; “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things” will have passed away. Everything will be as our Lord meant it to be, and it will be so very, very good.
But when that happens, there won’t be a vote. At the end of this world (as we know it), our will must submit to God’s. Jesus understood this when he chose to go to the cross. Christians try to follow his example every time we choose to act more like our Lord, rather than doing what we think best.
I say, therefore, that we need to be very careful with this idea of democracy. America would have us believe that our will matters, that we are even entitled to have our desires reflected in the laws, actions, and leaders of our government. Our right to vote tempts us to think that our will should be done.
It is tempting to be hopeful about how we might use this power. At our best, we might even manage to occasionally pass laws that our God finds pleasing. We might be able to—by the grace of God—achieve some small bit of the true justice that our Lord will bring with the return of his Kingdom.
Yet there is a dangerous pride in believing that a nation of mere people—however well-intentioned and God-fearing some of them might be—can bring about the will of God in this day and age. No society before us—not even a nation specifically chosen by God—has accomplished this feat. I think we’re fooling ourselves if we believe using a ballot box makes our chances any better, or our efforts any holier.
May we have the humility to continually seek the will of God for every day we live, word we speak, and vote we cast. To do anything less invites nothing but failure.