Granite City, IL (photo from builtstlouis.net)
As far as internet memes go, one of my favorites is: “In democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.” It’s easy to forget that the vast majority of the human race throughout history lived under some form of the latter. The average individual did not have a say in how his (and definitely not her) society was run, short of participating in a torch-and-pitchfork peasant revolt.
It’s a relatively rare thing, historically speaking, to have some degree of influence over the organization and direction of your society. It’s also not a phenomenon the New Testament directly addresses, the NT documents being written at a time when Christians were a tiny, politically voiceless minority living in the distinctly non-democratic Roman Empire.
Nevertheless, as we acknowledge that Christ is Lord of all aspects of our lives, it’s incumbent upon us as American Christians to think carefully about engaging in political action (voting, campaigning, lobbying, etc.) in a way that’s honoring to Him. How to do this in practice, however, is often enough a pretty complicated question.
