A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper (Proverbs 28:25).

There is a significant theme of civic responsibility running throughout the 28th chapter of the Proverbs.  It talks about law, lawlessness, government, authority, obedience, disobedience, and citizenship (see v. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25, and 28).  The Proverbs grant the fact that no one like a corrupt of evil authority over them (see v. 12, 15, and 28 especially) -- even so, the primary message of Proverbs 28 (and of the rest of the Bible, too) is that we must respect the authority that has been placed over us.

I never know exactly where the line is supposed to be drawn in a constitutional republic -- where the people are supposed to rule by means of representative democracy, but where lines of authority must be nonetheless established.  Certainly, there is a place for advocacy, at least to some extent.  Worshipping God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (i.e. Mark 12:30) ought to include worshipping God and trying to accomplish His purposes through our citizenship.  It's a natural extension of holistic worship to use our voice in the system to enact change when necessary.  Still, I wonder if we can sometimes take our privileges too far and end up fomenting rebellion instead of fulfilling our civic responsibilities.  I can at least speak for myself.  I like to cast myself in the role of "freedom fighter" -- standing up against tyranny and injustice, seeking to achieve some higher purpose -- but the truth of the matter is that I'm often more motivated by my own personal preferences and self-interests than anything else.  I'm concerned about the people who get elected into public office, not so much because of the ways that the policies they enact will affect society-at-large or because of posterity -- but more because I'm worried that their policies might impact my preferred way of living.  I'm concerned about the use of the money garnered from my taxes, not so much because of the social good or evil that's being furthered by those funds -- but more because I sure wish I had some more money to do things that I like to do.  If I'm being completely honest with myself, probably 80-90 percent of my issues with government are personal, not principled.

Because of this dynamic, I need to be careful about what I do with my democratic "right to dissent."  If I'm operating out of greed and selfish ambition, I'm not really "loving my neighbor" (i.e. considering the fact that a democracy should be constantly seeking to achieve the greatest good for the greatest percentage of the population) nor am I respecting the authority that has been placed in my life.  I'm not really living up to my civic responsibility, as outlined in Proverbs chapter 28.  And, perhaps most significantly, I'm not trusting God to take care of me.  In effect, I'm creating an idol out of public policy.

But if I can trust the LORD in every circumstance -- even in situations where I feel like the government is acting unfairly toward me and my interests -- then the Bible says that I can prosper, regardless of the outside influences.  Even if I were to find myself under the thumb of the world's most repressive regime, trusting in God would be more important than solving the governmental problems.  Whenever I can serve God and entrust Him with my anxieties, my quality of life goes up.  Conversely, whenever I try to seek my own good, I only end up creating dissatisfaction, distrust, disobedience, and dissension.  And a world full of dissension isn't really good for any of us.