Biblical truths for shaping a Christian perspective of South Africa’s Government of National Unity –Part 3

A 3-part series by political analyst and leadership consultant Craig Bailie’

See Part 1 I Part 2

What the Bible says about the role and, therefore, the limitations on government, is relevant because another criticism against the GNU cabinet has less to do with its leadership quality and more with its leadership quantity or the size of its membership. The GNU cabinet is the biggest in South Africa’s post-1994 history – a reality I have given more elaborate commentary on in an article accessible at this link. 

In the opening passage to his article, Biblical Foundations of Limited Government, Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute, acknowledges that the proper role of government is a contested issue. Nevertheless, the explicit guidance that the Bible provides on civil governance remains limited because, as Bandow writes, “the dominant message of the Gospel, as well as the Hebrew writings, is man’s relationship to God and his neighbors…the Bible gives much more guidance on how we should treat people than when we should coerce them, which is the defining characteristic of government.”

The fact that the Bible says more about relations between people and between people and God, than about civil governance, while not denying civil government’s key role, suggests that the responsibility of developing and shaping a nation for success is weighted more in favour of civil society (including the Church) than in favour of government. 

According to Romans 13:3-4 (ESV) — [R]ulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Based on this Scripture, which is the most explicit in the Bible about government’s role on Earth, a government’s fundamental role is a limited one – to commend those who do right and punish those who do wrong. Beyond what we read in Romans 13, “The Bible suggests that an expansive government is bad not only because it might demand to be treated like God, but also because it will reflect the sinfulness of its participants and mistreat its citizens.” 

South Africa’s recently appointed national executive is inflated in terms of the number of portfolios for which ministers and deputy ministers are responsible and cabinet membership, both of which will have implications for government spending, and by implication, taxpayer contributions.  

Of the 32 ministries that President Ramaphosa created, 11 have two deputy ministers. While a large number of portfolios (something South Africa’s Free Market Foundation has argued can be reduced to as few as 10) and the bloated cabinet are not new or unique to the South African context (read here, here, and here), the GNU cabinet is the largest in South Africa’s post-1994 political history. 

The size of the GNU Cabinet is an inevitable outcome of President Ramaphosa and his party’s decision to push for the kind of inclusive coalition with opposition political parties that extended well beyond the minimum requirement for forming a government.  If this inclusivity amounts to more than political window dressing and extends beyond only characterising an arrangement between South Africa’s political elite, it will be good for the nation.  

God appoints the authorities

I have highlighted two criticisms levelled against the GNU Cabinet – one concerning the quality and the other concerning the quantity of its leadership. To help temper or place these and any other criticisms against the GNU in the right perspective, so that they don’t dissuade the Church in South Africa from approaching the GNU with proper thinking and action, Christians must remember three biblical truths, the first of which I have already cited above: We must pray for government and its officials.  

Secondly, every member of the GNU and the wider National Assembly is created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). For this reason alone, every government official is worthy of respect, irrespective of his or her political affiliation, ideology, governance track record, how they govern in the current dispensation. Importantly, showing respect does not deny the need for accountability. 

Thirdly, we read in Romans 13:1 that “there is no authority except that which God has established” and that we must therefore, “submit to the authorities” that God has established. Christians in South Africa and elsewhere may have wanted and hoped for a different electoral outcome and may disagree with decisions President Ramaphosa made concerning a coalition government and his cabinet appointments, but ultimately, we must recognise God’s sovereignty, the realm in which decisions about governing authorities are ultimately granted, and the subsequent need to obey the governing authorities.  

Faithfully believing that God institutes governing authorities because Scripture says so, is one thing. Understanding God’s institution of governing authorities in contexts where people clearly influence who occupies government office, including but especially in contemporary democracies, is another. 

There appears to be a contradiction, for example, between Romans 13:1 (cited above) and Hosea 8:4. In the latter Scripture, we read how God says: “They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval” (NIV), and in other translations, “The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval” (NLT), “They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not” (ESV), and “They crown kings, but without asking me. They set up princes but don’t let me in on it” (MSG). 

How can it be that there is no authority except from God and that God institutes the authorities that exist, while at the same time, God himself acknowledges in Hosea 8:4 that Israel appointed authorities without his approval or consent? 

One explanation for the tension between Romans 13:1 and Hosea 8:4 is that “Paul is not telling us [in Romans 13:1] that God appoints the specific ruler [or rulers] in any one government, but that he supports, generally, the right of a government to govern and to protect people from harm.” 

In other words, God gives people, however big or small their grouping may be, or whether they do so democratically or not, the freedom to elect or help to power the political leaders they want. This freedom that God gives people does not necessarily mean God approves of how any government ascends to power, or that He approves of the government that comes to power, or how it governs. Hosea 8:4 makes it clear that God allowed Israel to choose its kings, but they did so without consulting Him, and without His approval. 

Consider as a temporal analogy for God’s spiritual role concerning the appointment of those in authority, how South Africa’s Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, according to the Constitution, called for and presided over the first sitting of South Africa’s recently established National Assembly – an event that included the Chief Justice witnessing “the swearing in of elected members of the Assembly, the election of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the President of the Republic”. The Chief Justice fulfilled these tasks without him necessarily having been consulted and without him necessarily having approved of those being sworn in and elected.   

God remains our ultimate hope and primary source of provision 

As political parties naturally vied for citizen attention and loyalty during the campaigning that preceded the recent elections, several slogans circulated in public and private spaces. Among them, one read, “Rescue SA. Vote DA”. Another, cleverly read, “ONLY ACTION WILL FIX SA”. A third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, read, “BUILD ONE SA”, “BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES TOGETHER”, and “#HOPEFORSA. 

Like the political slogans listed above, the GNU, even if only because of how it is named, may encourage among the more idealistic South Africans, misplaced levels of hope and faith in government, irrespective of how competent or integrous its members may be. 

Ideally, before the elections, South Africans would have interpreted campaign slogans, and today, after the elections, view the GNU, with the understanding that although politicians and governments are crucial determinants of national peace and prosperity, what any politician or government is practically capable of, and in fact does, often falls short of what they envision for their role in society.

Furthermore, the role that politicians and governments play is specific to the civil governance realm and exists separately from (although connected to) the vitally important role that civil society and its diverse members (including the Church) can and must play for a nation to prosper. Co-founder and CEO of Futurelect, Lindiwe Mazibuko’s words ring true, inspiring action by those located outside of government: “There’s nobody who is waiting in the wings to come and save us from ourselves; there’s just us.” But even Ms. Mazibuko’s words are true only to the point where they no longer apply to South Africa’s temporal governance space. 

Every South African, including those occupying political office, that possesses the necessary awareness, must do all that he or she can to make our country a better place. Christians specifically, will (or ought) to understand, however, that no matter how promising politicians or a government may be, or how active civil society and its members are, God remains a nation’s ultimate hope and source of provision. We must rely on Him, and therefore take to heart what David wrote in Psalm 20:7: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”  

The full version of this article is available here.

About the author
Craig Bailie holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from Rhodes University and certificates in Thought Leadership for Africa’s Renewal and Transformative Governance from the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI) and the University of the Free State (UFS), respectively. He is the founding director of Bailie Leadership Consultancy. He writes in his personal capacity and reserves the right to improve his views whenever possible.

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