July 8

Mark 12:17
THERE is no conflict of duties as between the spiritual life and one’s temporal responsibilities. The more truly we love God, the more sincerely will we seek the good of mankind. We express our faith in God by our love for our fellow-men (1 John 3:2323And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:23)). The Christian should be an example in his community of devotion to everything that is good and for the well-being of his neighbors. But this does not involve a recognition of the present world order as the fulfillment of the divine ideal. So long as earth’s rightful Ruler, the Lord Jesus Christ, is rejected, there will never be perfect government in this scene. Nevertheless, “the powers that be are ordained of God,” in the sense that they exist only by His permissive will, hence the importance of subjection to the existing authority in any given country.
If human edicts be positively opposed to the expressed will of God, the Christian is to obey God rather than man (Acts 4:1919But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. (Acts 4:19)). Where conditions are such that he can with good conscience cooperate with the government, he is to do so. Any other course would be contrary to the spirit of Him who said, “Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
“Children of a freeborn race,
Happy in your dwelling-place,
As your blessings ye retrace,
Think from whence they flow.
Think of that creative Hand,
Author of the sea and land,
By whose power the nations stand,
In their weal or woe.”