They seek political office, pay taxes, and exercise their right to vote as ways of manifesting their conviction that government is the servant of God. They participate in the life and work of voluntary associations, such as service clubs, political parties, civic improvement organizations, in the awareness that they contribute to the presentation of an open society. For the chief characteristic of such a society is to be found in the influence of the work of such associations on the direction taken in the exercise of political authority. That is to say, they make known their own views in community discussion and activity with a view to influencing public opinion in such a way as to reflect a concern for the application of moral principle to political issues. They do so on the conviction that only where the political climate is infused with ethical standards can justice and freedom be presented and extended.
Christians engage in public prayer for government.
Like the rest of fallen creation, political structures work in a dialectical situation. They often deal therefore in matters which on their surface manifest a large degree of ambivalence. Civic order is a gift of this sustaining God, whose will it is to check and control the demonic forces which at all times threaten society with anarchy. Civic order is not to be thought of in static terms. It is rather to be conceived of as that condition of society in which the many and varied tensions inherent in any kind of community life are kept in creative balance to provide opportunity for fulfillment in terms of both personal life and group enterprise.