12 Jan 2018
In the Church we follow a principle called
“subsidiarity.” And that’s simply the
idea that things should be allowed to happen on the most local level as
possible. For example, if there’s a
project that a city wants to do, then that city should be able to handle it;
the state or federal governments shouldn’t try to step in and take over. And we get this principle from God himself.
When the people told Samuel he was too old and that they
wanted a king to rule them, God said to Samuel: Give them a king if that’s what
they want. God knew that having a
(human) king over the people wasn’t the best thing. But instead of saying, “No, you don’t know
what you’re doing—you’re not having a king,” God simply said okay. After all, God gave his people free will, and
they could decide for themselves. God
practiced the principle of “subsidiarity.”
And that’s both “good news” for us, and also something to
handle with great care. Subsidiarity can
be good in that it preserves, and allows us to exercise, our free will. But, at the same time, subsidiarity—if
abused—could lead to bad things happening, most especially when someone “above
us” is trying to guide us, and we refuse to listen.
Think of a parent who’s saying to the kids, “Don’t run out in
the road....But, of course, you can do what you want.” And the kids run out in the road and get hit
by a car. Well, in that case, it
would’ve been wiser to set aside “what I want to do,” and listen to that voice
“above them,” their parents.
With subsidiarity it’s a balancing act, and it takes humility
and wisdom to know when to exercise our free will, and when to let ourselves be
led by somebody else. May God bless us
with humility and wisdom. May he help us
to exercise our free will with prudence.
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