"If we are seeking to develop a balanced biblical understanding of the state, central to it will be the truths that the state's authority and ministry are both given to it by God. Moreover, in writing about the ministry of the state, Paul twice uses the very same word which he has used elsewhere of the ministers of the church, namely *diakonoi* (although the third time he uses *leitourgoi*, a term which usually meant 'priests' but could mean 'public servants') ... *diakonia* is a generic term which can embrace a wide variety of ministries. Those who serve the state as legislators, civil servants, magistrates, police, social workers or tax collectors are just as much 'ministers of God' as those who serve the church as pastors, teachers, evangelists or administrators."

John Stott, "The Message of Romans" (The Bible Speaks Today series: Leicester: IVP, 1994), p. 343.

As a public servant, I like that.