The Subsidiarity Principle

I used to think, “Man, if Eminem got saved, then he could evangelize the world and have an insane impact! So many people would come to Christ!” 

There’s, of course, some truth to this. The word of God has the power to change people. So, the math would go: the greater platform one has, the more people can hear God’s word. 

Fair enough.

But what about the rest of us non-Eminems? What about the regular Joe, socially awkward, artist who've never left the small town they grew up in?

The subsidiarity principle encourages us here. At the root of this principle is how governments solve problems. 

Should major problems be handled by the highest level of government? Some think so, especially after the past century of growing government control, notably under socialism.

The higher up one depends on for solving problems, the lower the local incentives become to address localized issues. 

Eminem’s conversion could speak to mass issues of domestic abuse, drugs, anger, sex, etc.

But the greater the audience, the flatter and more generic the answers.

Keeping things solved at a local level ensures that the complexities and nuances of our problems get worked on. 

When Jesus died on the cross, the guy living in the mountains of Papua New Guinea was still going about his day tending his pineapple garden. Large platforms don’t always equal ministry success. God calls us to be faithful with the lot he’s given us.