As I was watching on television, not long ago, how an authoritarian government used the police to violently repress unarmed, non-violent citizens peacefully protesting in the streets, I wondered what the guidelines are for God to install the type of government a country might maintain. After all, the Bible says that God determines the governing authorities of each society. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1). That biblical passage even says that we are all to be subjected to such authority.

Many countries have never enjoyed a democratic system of government but always maintained an authoritarian, corrupt one. In contrast, a few societies have been democratic and free for centuries. In other words, some countries are blessed with freedom and justice, while others are cursed with a government that mistreats and abuses its citizens. In fact, in some places government has been the largest murderer of its citizens. And the Bible is making God responsible for this situation (I bet the reader never heard that one before).

However, it does not mean God is being unfair. It means that each authority is provided according to what each society and group of people desires and deserves. In other words, each society (or kingdom, territory, or principality) is rewarded with a government according to their sins or virtuosity. That sounds fair to me.

For instance, the Bible tells us that God originally blessed the ancient Hebrews (Israelites) with judges to rule over them. But they were foolish enough to demand from God a king instead. The prophet Samuel warned them against such request, telling them that a king would only abuse them. But they became deaf to his warning, so God granted their wish. Not surprisingly, for centuries most of those kings badly mistreated them. But societies eventually learn. The State of Israel has been a vibrant, effective democracy since its foundation in 1948.

God grants each society rulers according to whatever they have in their hearts. Virtuous societies demand governments that allow their virtuosity to flourish. Corrupt societies find it normal to accept corrupt and abusive leaders. That is all they know. But this is a dynamic world, if it is not going up is because it is going down. Whenever a society’s moral values do not improve, then corruption and abuse get increasingly worse.

We need to understand what we do not see; which is the spiritual power behind the physical power of a government. The Bible actually gives us an idea of what this power is, so we can fight it. Ephesians 6:12 warns us that we are not fighting against flesh and bone, but rather against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this world, and the spiritual forces of evil. According to Scripture, the devil was thrown down to this earth and it describes him as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the ruler of this world (John 12:31 and 14:30). He controls the whole world (1 John 5:19). The devil even offered to give all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus when he was being tempted by the devil (Mathew 4:8).

But the devil only controls what he owns. He cannot control the people that belong to God and Jesus. If a city, kingdom, or any group of people belong to God, they enjoy a government installed by God (Colossians 1:13). So in reality, with our behavior we decide what kind of government we will have.

The people I saw on TV protesting against their rulers in a nonviolent manner have a better chance of removing them than through violence. According to studies, nonviolent protests are more successful than violent ones, which turn many people off. Nonviolent tactics work best on governments that hold higher moral values, as Gandhi successfully proved against the British, but they seem to also work against totally amoral ones.

But if a society would like to increase to 100% their probability of success in removing a tyrannical government, instead of protesting (often risking their lives), they must get God, the one who puts in place all authority, to do that for them. I have never seen this done before, but if the greatest number of people in such society get together in one voice in prayer one night and earnestly beg the almighty for a change of government, they should not be surprised to learn the next morning that their oppressive government fell. That quick! However, they also need to drastically and honestly change their hearts and minds from all the spirit of corruption and evil allowed in their society because that was the real reason behind their predicament. In short, the best predictor of a type of government will be its society’s morality level.