It may interest you to know that the king used to directly appoint cabinet ministers to advise him on how best to govern the country, but this stopped in the early 1700s during the reign of King George I. The reason King George stopped attending the meetings was because he didn’t speak English, having been invited to take up the crown from Hanover – and speaking only German (and French, I think, but the cabinet ministers could only speak English). So because he couldn’t understand the conversations, he didn’t attend. His son, George II, followed in his father’s footsteps (although he spoke English) and thereafter monarchs of Britain have not attended Cabinet meetings, preferring instead to hear the conclusions reached by their ministers, rather than sitting through the various debates.
Then, somewhere along the line (I haven’t got to this point in my history book yet) the Prime Minister was given the power to decide the members of his cabinet. We all know that, in reality, the power shifted from the Monarch to the Prime Minister some time ago.
I gather that it wasn’t until the 1800s that political parties came into being, before that, Members of Parliament represented their constituents, not their party’s interests to the constituency – which seems to be the case today.
What’s all this got to do with you and me? Well on Monday 111 Members of Parliament stood up and voted in the interests of their constituents. Most people in the United Kingdom support the idea of a referendum on our membership in the European Union. However, the 111 votes cast in favour of the referendum overwhelmed by those cast in opposition to the proposal. All the major political parties employed a three-line whip to make sure that such a referendum would not take place. This decision affects citizens in Britain (and perhaps others in democracies as well), because it asks the question ‘who’s in charge?’ Is it the elected representatives of the people (in this case the members of parliament) or is it the Prime Minister and his appointed cabinet? Put another way, is it the people who are in charge? or is it the Prime Minister and the members of his cabinet?
Currently it’s the Prime Minister and his cabinet. In other words, what we have is a system whereby we elect potential tyrants for five years and then, if we don’t like their tyranny, we can throw them out at the next election, in order to be tyrannised by the next lot! Once we've elected our overlords, we're at their mercy, because if they don't want to fulfill a pre-election pledge (like a referendum on European Union membership), they won't and there's nothing you and I can do about it.
It seems to me the best system of government is one where the Monarch is not threatened with removal by bullets or ballots (ie He is permanently in power); and where said Monarch has the best interests of his people at heart. It would be great to have an all-wise, all-powerful king who gave directions to his people and they followed them immediately, full of faith and confidence that the instructions were perfect for that particular situation. It would be great to have a king who didn’t need to rely on ministers for advice, because he knew what needed to be done anyway. The ministers role in such a government would not be to formulate policy, but to ensure that it was carried out.
The good news is that such a kingdom exists. It’s called the kingdom of God. The King, Jesus Christ, is in charge, and if we are to be good citizens, we will quickly and obediently follow his commands. If you’re not a Christian, part of the good news of Jesus Christ is that there is a government which works to bring you blessing, there is a governor who knows your needs and fulfils them. If you are a Christian, we’re part of that kingdom already, and we’re called to live out heaven’s policies here on earth (May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven).
Living in the United Kingdom is a great blessing for most of us, but living in the Kingdom of God is the greatest blessing that any man or woman can experience. You see Christianity not just a Sunday thing, being a Christian changes everything about a person, even the way he views politics.
Jesus said ‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.’ (Mark 1)
And Paul wrote:
Phil. 3:19 [The world’s] destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
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