Edmund Burke famously said that for evil to triumph it was only necessary for good people to do nothing.  Our society  faces many issues about the quality of our life together, how we care for those in need, and what we need to do in order to establish a more equitable and sustainable society.

Local councillors are people who give their time and energy to trying to help us work at these issues in our own neighbourhoods.  The privilege of living in a democracy means that each of us can play a part in deciding upon the priorities that should be pursued.

As people who are called to care about the quality of life of all God’s children, Christians need to take a lead in expressing our views and using our votes.

I would encourage all of us to look at the issues being debated in our own locality, to assess the aspirations of each candidate, and to exercise our precious right to vote.  Our communities need people to stand up for Christian values – fairness, especial concern for the stranger and the needy, challenge to policies which might benefit only particular groups rather than seeking to bind together better all citizens and their concerns.

Jesus paid taxes.  Paul called for positive support for good government. We need to play our part - in times of such political apathy this might mean that our voice can be especially significant, as a witness and a model of responsible citizenship.

Vote – and avoid the danger of the forces of chaos flourishing because good people did nothing.