Let everyone be subject to the
governing authorities, for
there is no authority except that which
God has established.
The authorities that exist have been established
by God...
the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.
When it came time to rebuild the walls
of Jerusalem, Nehemiah
asked the leader of the government in power for help. King
Artaxerxes, though not a believer, gave Nehemiah leave, travel
documents, and letters of credit. God had worked in the heart of this
pagan ruler to show favor to Nehemiah.
In Genesis (39-47)
we read that God had arranged for Joseph to become head of a
government feeding program that saved not only Egypt but, also,
Israel and the rest of the region. The Apostle Paul made full use of
his rights as a Roman citizen to preserve his life and gain an
audience with the emperor. God has established government authorities
to fulfill His purposes.
Churches today are beneficiaries of
many government programs. These include police and fire protection,
safe roads and building codes. Some churches also partner with the
government in summer feeding programs, day care vouchers, and senior
adult and veterans' services to name a few.
In fact, urban churches provide
services to their community that would otherwise need to be provided
by a government agency. Examples include emergency food and clothing
distribution, counseling, support groups, recreation, etc. More than
80% of the recipients of these services are not members of the church
providing them.
A government of the people, by the
people, and for the people works with churches and other local,
faith-based groups for the common good. One such endeavor is the
Faith-Based
Initiative of San Antonio. The Initiative was created by the city
council in 2016 to facilitate relational collaboration, active
partnerships, and networked services between the San Antonio faith
community, government agencies, non-profit organizations and
community groups.
The Faith Liaison for the Initiative,
Ann
Helmke, helped to organize a group of churches in District 3 to
work with Councilwoman Rebecca
Villagran to tackle the issues of hunger and homelessness. Within
a year we had four new food pantries and an ID recovery program in
the areas of greatest needs.
As God “makes his sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust
(Matthew
5:45),” So teamwork builds God's Kingdom for all, even, with
the help of people who may not see the world as I do.
