Romans 13:4 “For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

Paul says it twice here: “He is God’s servant.” That is not the same as saying, “He is a sincere believer,” or “he is a member of the church,” or even “he is a nice guy.” The Apostle Paul tried to convert the emperor Nero and a handful of other Roman governors and officials during his life. He had limited success, with governors on the islands of Cyprus and Malta turning to Christianity.

But one of the fascinating things about the way that God has ordered the world is the way all things, and all people, must serve him whether they intend to or not. The time at which Paul was writing is sometimes known in history as the “Pax Romana,” the “Roman Peace.” Because the Roman government was so powerful there was relatively little war going on, especially in the part of the empire where Paul was doing mission work. The Roman government had little interest in helping to spread Christianity. Sometimes it even got in the way. But if Paul had to dodge columns of soldiers and battles and sieges while he was trying to spread the gospel, he would have gotten a lot less missionary work done. The fact that the Roman government kept this all buttoned down meant that it was “God’s servant, to do you good.”

And while Paul ran into some corrupt local officials along the way, at least they still kept order and enforced the law where Paul went. If thieves and cutthroats were running all over the place, again, it would have been more difficult to get from place to place to preach the gospel. And if Paul’s own dissatisfaction with the government turned him into a scofflaw who ignored the laws he didn’t like, then he would have to put extra effort into avoiding encounters with law enforcement. That would mean less mission work done, not more.

There is no use for Christians to attract extra negative attention from a government that may already look at their message and work unfavorably. So even unbelieving, self-serving leaders at the national, state, or local level are God’s servant when they use the power of the sword, which is the power of deadly force in any form, to keep the peace. They generally make us more safe, and make it possible to get more gospel work done, when we submit to those who govern us, imperfect though they may be.

Compared to Christians in so many places around the world, we have it easy in the United States, and we have it good. I’m not saying we shouldn’t work to make it better if we can. Do your best in the election on November 5. But it is less of a stretch to see how the institutions and people in our own government, from those we elect to go to Washington, to the policeman who pulls us over because a tail light is out, are “God’s servant to do us good.”

To put it another way, consider the government under which we live a gift. Those he gives to keep us safe can do their job best when we are cooperating with them as much as we can. So remember his gifts for our bodies and our souls, and submit to those who govern us.