"Meeting human needs is the premise of all religions...their primary focus is on the needs of the worshiper."
I believe that this is a crucial point to be grasped here at the beginning of our reading. We must understand that our attempt to live out the kingdom principles in this book cannot be another misguided attempt to meet our own human needs through yet another "God-sanctioned" process or system of thought. We must firmly commit ourselves to the proposition that it is all about God and His rule over the earth. If we don't understand this at the onset of our reading we run the risk of inadvertently placing ourselves on the throne meant for God, the one true King. We must be careful to remember that we are seeking to establish His kingdom and not our own. We are to be citizens of the Kingdom, not shoppers looking for the best deal around. When we enter the Kingdom of God we are seeking the governing influence of the King.
Munroe has it spot on when he talks of the major flaw of democracy being majority vote. This is basically governed peer pressure. When two thirds of your 4th grade class is wearing parachute pants and jelly bracelets it seems like a good idea. But now, in retrospect, I have to ask myself "What was I thinking?" Our nation is the same way right now, making decisions based on what's popular rather than what is right in God's eyes. And we do this individually all the time. We go for the one-person "majority vote." "Hey, I want to do something I know is morally and emotionally wrong for me. I win!" Thankfully we have a kingdom God that lets us know almost instantaneously that we have made the wrong vote but welcomes us back, lets us re-attach any "dangling chads" and gives us a chance to try again. And no I don't still have the parachute pants!
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