Why I don't believe in democracy!

 Why I don’t believe in democracy 

Last week we had our primary elections.  We participated in the supreme act of democracy, the voice of all the people making their opinions heard as we began to select our leaders.  I actually don’t believe in democracy because I think everyone is equal, or equally qualified to lead.  Sometimes you stop and ask what we believe and if what you have believed is Biblical or not. Popularly, democracy means that all men are equal. But what do we mean by “equal”?  Without carefully defining what we mean by “equal” we can come up with some pretty dangerous ideals. 

In fact, no one actually believes we are all equal. You don’t believe it and I don’t believe it. If you have ever used the reviews of past customers or patients to consider which mechanic or dentist you will use, you don’t believe that all are equal. If you did, you would simply go to whatever mechanic or dentist you happened across.  If you have ever asked a friend, “Do you know of a good barber, painter, tutor, etc,” then you believe some are better than others and you do not believe in equality.  I have a friend that I am not sure is capable of driving a car; I would never get in a car and ride with him.  I have another friend that, every so often, I lay back, allow him to poke around in my mouth, occasionally jab me with a needle and use a drill on my body.  I do not consider these men equal. 

 “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…”  In what ways are all men equal?  Are they equal in raw I.Q.?  What about physical ability or appearance?  In what way are all men equal?  People are equal in only two ways.  They are equal only in the sense that all men are equally created in God’s image.  The very underpinning of our concept of democracy is the concept of God the creator.  All men are of equal value because of their value before the Creator.  But that is not the reason I believe in democracy. 

There is another Biblical concept of man’s equality, and that is the reason I believe in democracy.  All men are sinners.  All men have a capacity for evil that is dramatic and terrifying.  The Biblical teaching on the Fall and the result of the Fall means that even the best of men can, under certain circumstances, become a threat to other men.  The more power that a man has, the more he has the capacity to inflict harm, and if he has unlimited power, he is capable of inflicting almost unlimited evil.  I want such men restrained by other men, by all men.  I would at this moment like to go into a lengthy discussion of my own political theory.  But I will suffice it to say that the intended representative democracy of our founders is the best possible form of government.  It is made possible by the goodness of men and made necessary by the evil of those same men.

 Finally, I want to say-need to say-that I have no hope that even the best elected officials can bring this country to where it needs to be; that can only be done by God.  And He has chosen to work through the church, the disciple, and the family.  Which means that while my voting last week was important it wasn’t nearly as important as my morning prayers.