Lately, I have been very disturbed by calls from many corners, including some Christian ones, for the deliberate overthrow the government by having truck drivers go to D.C., bog down traffic (potentially slowing emergency services), and placing Congressmen under citizen’s arrest. It has also been suggested that we hold “citizen grand juries” to try these individuals. I believe, as well intentioned as many of the people who are suggesting this are, this is sheer lunacy.

Don’t get me wrong, this government is corrupt and in great need of reform. These people have lost all conception of the notion that they are God’s minister to enforce His laws. No one would like to see change any more than me. Clearly every branch of government, from the top down, has failed to do its God-ordained duty. They kill the innocent and acquit the guilty on a daily basis.

That having been said, the proposed course of action is even more dastardly. While one might invoke the Constitution as an authority to overthrow the government, there is a problem: Simply because something is Constitutional does not mean it is morally acceptable or praiseworthy. It was, as way of reminder, written by men who raised the sword against their own King, their lofty ideals notwithstanding.

While there are certainly times where civil disobedience IS required on the part of the Christian (Exodus 1:17), outright rebellion is called by Scripture by the same execreble name as wichcraft (1 Samuel 15:23). The midwives in Exodus did well in ignoring Pharoah’s evil command. The note on Exodus 1:19 in the Geneva Bible reads:

Their disobedience herein was lawful, but their dissembling evil.

These truck drivers are angry. They have the right to have their grievances addressed in a just an equitable manner. On the other hand, as private citizens, they do NOT have the right to attempt to “arrest” anyone. It would be an entirely different story if the individual governors of the states ordered these Congressmen arrested when they returned home. There are times when it is appropriate for an inferior magistrate to use his properly designated authority to protect his subjects from a superior one. While this would surely be controversial, it would at the very least be the act of one who was ordained with the authority by which to act.

Something to consider: As bad as things are, outright anarchy is still more dreadful and evil.