One of the great political temptations that moderns face is the temptation of the “grand scale.” When the state aspires to deity, the state needs to generate the requisite awe in those who participate in the process. One of the ways of doing this is to proclaim that the future of the planet is at stake, or to offer legislation that appears to us as detailed and comprehensive as the decrees of God. And so people look at the three-thousand pages of proposed regulations and say that they are like the peace of God—they surpass knowledge.
This is why idolatrous statists want everything moved away. In capital cities far distant, in wars across the oceans, in corridors of power that you will never walk in, “the great decisions are being made, and the great ones are making them.” This is an illusion, an illusion attempting to create a sense of transcendence.
But one modern politician knew better when he said that “all politics is local.” We sometimes reverse this, thinking that the national elections are the important ones, with the local elections being the dispensable ones. Now as Christians we should be participating in all the elections that God gives us the privilege of being a part of.
But if we had to choose—if we had to pick one—what then? You may vote for president, or you may vote in the city council election. Which would you choose? Overwhelming, most Americans would choose to participate in the presidential election because this is where they believe the action is. But in the local election, you know the people, you know the town, you know the issues, and your vote is much more significant.
The point here is not to get you to drop out of the national elections. But it is to get you to see that there is a subtle propaganda point being made in the national elections—these people all want to be masters of the universe. This is the idolatry of the grand scale. They all want to be commander-in-chief, or to use the old Roman word for it, they want to be imperator.
You probably don’t need to make sure you vote in national elections. Turn out is usually heavy. You do need to make sure you vote in local elections. Turn out is usually thin. This is not a pragmatic point—get out there because your vote will make a bigger difference locally. It is a spiritual point. Where is your heart? Who do you think is going to fix everything? Where is your trust? In local elections, it is easier to see that God is in control, and to participate without giving way to illusions of grandeur.