The Metaphor of the Traffic Light

When Christians Use Worldly (Coercive) Power

The Distinction Between Worldly Power and Godly Power

In the book Reckoning with Power I suggest Christians must discern the distinction between worldly power and Godly power. Worldly power is “power over,” the use of force, coercion or social power to bring someone (or a people) into compliance. Think police, legislation, government, hierarchical control, corporate management. Godly power, on the other hand, is “power with,” the power of God’s presence. It is inter-relational power. God’s power never coerces, will not usurp a person’s agency. It is nonetheless real power, released in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and works in social spaces by the Spirit through conviction, forgiveness, disruption, reconciliation, revelation, healing, and making things new.

In relation to worldly power, Jesus says to Christians “not so among you.” (Mark 10:43) But the fact remains, there will be times when worldly power is necessary for Christians, because wherever there is no “among you,” there is no space for God’s power. God’s power works “among”, between people who are in submission to the rule of God through Jesus. Wherever these conditions do not actualize, worldly power is a last resort.

But let us not expect to do what only God can do – heal the world, reconcile the world, renew the world – through worldly power. Worldly power can only preserve the world, it cannot heal the world. This preserving of the world is surely an act of justice, but it is not God’s final purposes in justice and righteousness. Let us then keep worldly power within its limits. Let’s not expect too much. I find the traffic light to be a helpful metaphor in describing the limits of worldly power.

Worldly Power Functions Like A Traffic Light

Worldly power functions like a well-placed traffic light at a busy intersection. It keeps cars from crashing into each other and injuring people. Police enforce compliance with the traffic light. If you “run a light,” a police officer will stop you and give you a ticket. If this happens too many times, you will be arrested and required to go to court, and you may even have your driver’s license revoked. With this kind of coercion and rules, the traffic light keeps good order and keeps traffic accidents to a minimum.

But traffic lights cannot resolve people’s conflicts. They (and the legislative system that enforces them) cannot reconcile those who hate each other or heal the brokenness that may be revealed when two cars come together at an intersection and refuse to yield to one another. Perhaps we would not even need traffic lights if all drivers were patient, loving, and courteous with one another? But the fact that many people run through traffic lights, disregard them, or honk loudly when someone doesn’t respond to a green light fast enough reveals the need in our fallen world for traffic lights.

First Timothy 1:9 says, “The law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers.” But the traffic light will not heal those people of the antagonisms that drive their lives. All worldly power can do is preserve society from the chaos of sin and hold back the forces of evil, so that human life may carry on with its daily tasks. Worldly power therefore must be kept in its lane. We must not try to heal the world through traffic lights.

Martin Luther argued fiercely against worldly power ever crossing over to do God’s work. He distinguished between what the two powers can do in his 1523 pamphlet Temporal Authority. He defines worldly power (temporal government) as that which “restrains the unchristian and wicked . . . [in order to] maintain an outward peace.” God, however, works salvation through faith, and “faith is a free act, to which no one can be coerced.” God must heal and restore through spiritual power. According to Luther, the Christian person, living in the Spirit, has no need for temporal government (the left hand of God), but until that time when all humanity is under the sway of the Spirt, worldly power (as I have defined it) will be needed to hold back the chaos, to allow the Spirit to do Her work without coercion in the lives of people.

Modern Reformed theologians argue likewise for a distinction of purposes between worldly power and godly power. A key issue for these Protestants has been whether the worldly powers of government (and perhaps other institutions like marriage or economy too) were created before the fall and thus intended from the beginning for the “good work” of God (i.e., are orders of creation) or whether indeed they were interventions by God after the fall to hold back sin and keep human life in order (i.e., are orders of preservation). If government was instituted after the fall, then its purpose must be limited to holding back sin. If government was created before the fall, then its purposes must be restored to their original created intent. With the latter, Christians can be tempted to take over the government for perceived Christian purposes.

In either case however, we are now living in the world after the fall. Whether traffic lights were created before the fall or after the fall, needed because of sin or not, we are now in a world of sin. It is not possible to live in a world without traffic lights, even if maybe we could have before the fall. We need traffic lights to do their work, but only God in Christ can overcome sin and evil and reveal what and how government (or traffic lights) might be used (or not used) within the purposes of God.

All This To Say

All this to say, there is a time and a place for worldly power in the life of Christians and the ordering of the world. But what it can do is limited. It can preserve society, it cannot heal society. And so we must not over-reach, seeking to use worldly power for goods and purposes only God can do. For this is when coercion goes off the rails. Worldly power therefore must be kept in its lane. We must not try to heal the world through traffic lights.

Does the traffic light metaphor work for you? Where does it miss?

This is an excerpt from Reckoning with Power which can be purchased here. The citations and further explanations of these ideas are found in the footnotes, which were too long to include in this post, but can be found on p. 93-94 of Reckoning With Power (Brazos, 2024)

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