A Conflict of Interest? tagged: , , , ,

A Conflict of Interest?

Posted by in News & Culture

Our guest author today is Lew Ayotte.  Lew, originally from Maine, is a husband of five years.  He and his wife own two beagles and seven cats. Lew studied at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina, where he earned his B.A in Biblical Studies. He and his family are in the process of moving to the Athens, Georgia, area where he currently works as a Systems Administrator. Although he does not use his Bible degree vocationally, he tries to use it pragmatically. One way he does so is at his own blog called The Pursuit.

Lew is a thinker.  He often challenges the status quo and conventional thinking in his interaction here at sbc IMPACT! These thoughts are his own.  You may or may not agree with him.  Whatever the case, we hope that his thoughts and questions will inspire a hearty discussion.

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As you all know, the United States’ government is a Democratic Republic. In very general terms this means that all of the citizens of the U.S. are given the right to vote for a person who will represent their own interests. This allows the chosen representatives to act on issues without the necessity of every citizen’s immediate approval. At the same time, the U.S. government allows and encourages each citizen to vote on certain issues – such as the President of said government.

We know from Scripture that God also sets up and tears down governments (Proverbs 8:16, Daniel 2:21). We can infer from these texts that God played an active role in setting up the U.S. government. Not only did God choose President Bush as the leader of the U.S., but he once chose Bill Clinton as the leader. Who God chooses next will remain to be seen. We also know that God often times uses heathen nations to judge other nations. For instance, He used Babylon to judge Israel. We can also conclude that God could use other nations to judge the U.S. So, by logical necessity, we infer that God setup Babylon, Israel, the U.S., even Nazi Germany – some of these nations He has since tore down by the power of other nations that He set up.

We also find in Scripture a command to submit ourselves to our governments (1 Peter 2:13 and possibly Hebrews 13:17). This extends from driving the posted speed limit to keeping our integrity during tax season and everything below, between, and above those lines. Of course there has always been some measure of interpretation with some “laws,” and thus some leeway given. For instance, if the posted speed limit is 55mph, an officer generally will not pull you over for going 57mph. In this sense, the U.S government can be very forgiving.

With all that said, I find that there is a potential conflict of interest, given how the U.S. government is setup and what Scripture commands. This is what I mean: the U.S. government allows its citizens to petition itself. For instance, if the federal government were to make homosexual marriage legal, the citizens would have the right to petition against this decision. Now, Scripture clearly defines homosexuality as sin, so there are a number of Christians who would definitely be part of a governmental petition to ban homosexual marriage. However, would this be consistent with the command to submit to the government? In one sense, they would be taking part in a right given to them by a government set up by God. In another sense, they would not be submitting to the governments decision, and thus would be disobeying a command in Scripture.

So, I ask you, what should a Christian do in the face of this or a similar dilemma? How else might this potential conflict of interest affect our involvement in government affairs?