THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

So the Assembly is up and running. After three years of inactivity the lights are back on in Stormont. You’ll have your view on the whole situation as I have mine.

But what does the Bible have to say about the whole matter? You might think that’s a crazy question. It’s true that the Bible was written a long time ago and true also that even the best of Bible concordances will not turn up for you words like ‘Stormont’ or ‘Northern Ireland Assembly’.

But there are principles concerning government and leadership that are found in scripture and that are still very relevant to us today.

Romans 13 makes it clear that “the powers that be are ordained of God” and details are given there of the responsibilities of both the governed and the governing. In 1 Timothy 2 and in 1 Peter 2 we are reminded of our responsibility to pray for those who rule over us and that, as good citizens, we are to be obedient and law-abiding. Jesus reminds us that we are “to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).

Does this mean then that we are simply to knuckle down regardless of what the government is like, obey all its laws and passively fall into line with all its dictates? Certainly if you have a personal faith in Jesus Christ you are expected, according to scripture, to be a good citizen but you are not required to fall into line with absolutely everything that the government is doing and saying.

Take Daniel. He held some kind of senior position in the royal court of King Darius (Daniel 6). He had a clear faith in God and was determined that he would put God first in his life.

When the king declared that for a period of time prayer to God was illegal Daniel faced a dilemma. He wanted to be a good citizen but he wanted, above everything else, to honour God. What the state was asking and what God expected from him were in conflict. A choice had to be made. God must come first. So Daniel continued with his daily practice of praying to God and ended up in a den of lions!

May we who know God today have the courage to follow Daniel’s example.