Democracy?

In his “Democracy isn’t easy” article, a local newspaper columnist wrote, “It’s hard to do democracy when you’re passing God’s laws instead of human (humane) ones.”  Apparently, democracy for him is a euphemism for “I want what I want and I want to do what I want to do.”
 
How ironic it is to imply that God who created us humans would impose laws that are not humane.  One thinks of children who accuse their parents of being cruel and unfair because of the rules and laws of the household: chores, bedtime, clothes, friends, activities, etc.  But in their pursuit of this autonomy, these children invariably suffer the repercussions of doing things their way.  They learn life’s lessons the hard way, many times at great loss.
 
But parents who are truly loving provide a law-based framework for their developing children that’s designed for their ultimate good, happiness, protection, purpose and overall betterment.   The goal is to raise responsible adults who can unselfishly contribute to the common good of mankind. So too has God provided moral laws and a created order designed for man’s good, happiness, purpose and overall flourishing.
 
But man in his rebellion against God’s moral and created order has never achieved ultimate peace, prosperity, happiness and true human advancement.  For thousands of years, human history has been characterized by suffering, wars, corruption, division, confusion, oppression, et al, mostly fueled by selfish and prided-based human pursuits like power, money, and position.  It is only God’s gracious forbearance which has prevented man and creation itself from sinking into the utter depths of darkness and depravity.  This is because God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).