Driving slowly – and the commands of Scripture

Recently the Welsh Senedd reduced the 30mph speed limit on the roads in Wales to 20mph.

This means that an uninterrupted three-mile journey in urban Wales now takes about three minutes longer. Predictably, responses range from applauding this to regarding it as a crisis. Rarely has 10mph been the focus of such national debate since Stephenson built his ‘Rocket’. And, unusually, this move by the current Welsh Government is clearly not a vote catcher and may increase the pressure on the economy, but they are sticking to their conviction, and as a result we all drive a little slower in Wales.

Whatever your thoughts on this, it points to the matter of the Christian and the State and, putting the particular issue in Wales aside, understanding the relationship between the State and the Christian is likely to become more important as secular influence increasingly leans on the corridors of power. Romans 13:1-7 tells us we are to submit to governing authorities as they have been established by God, are ultimately His servants and we are to do this out of conscience. It was in the face of ‘grief in all kinds of trials’ (1 Peter 1:6) that those first scattered Christians were told to ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors’ (1 Peter 2:13-14). This principle clearly matters profoundly and connects with Jesus’ response of ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’ (Matt. 22:21) when answering a question about the deeply unpopular Roman taxes in His day.