In my last two posts, I explored ideas about fear and faith. I used a quote about government as a starting point and it brought an interesting response from a friend. You can read his thoughts in the comments of the fear post.
I need to clarify that I didn't write the quote about government. It was made by Charles Murray in a speech delivered to the American Enterprise Institutes Annual Dinner this past March. It can be found here. I do agree with it however, and for exactly the reasons my friend stated. Christians should not be fearing the things they want government to solve OR government itself. They should be asking "Lord, what is it you want ME to do to be a part of your solution to these messes?" To your point, we should be the "we the people."
Second, I didn't blame the government. I wasn't writing about government. I happened to chose a quote about government but only as a starting point to discuss fear. In my opinion, what pushes us from a healthy, effective government to an overblown, overextended and obtrusive government is fear. Fearing a thief gets us the police. Fearing businessmen gets us laws that run businesses into the ground because of unsustainable demands on their money. I'm NOT saying business is a savior. Greed destroys. BUT, greedy businesses usually self destruct. Our fear of greed, and a lack of faith in positive outcomes causes legal intervention that has unintended consequences. Again, just an example of fear run amok.
Now, having said that, here ARE my thoughts on government: I can only speak for myself and say I am upset with big government. I don't want the government solving my problems anymore than I want them solving other peoples. There was a time when the town drunk was taken in, comforted and assisted by townspeople. In a great number of cases, that person got well because in some part, they felt the shame of behaving badly within their community. You might say peer pressure kept them in line.
Somewhere along the line, government stepped in to "help" these drunks. The townspeople stopped reaching out because the government asked them to stop or, more tragically, they didn't have to anymore. Either way though, the result was a disconnect in the community and many more lifelong drunks. Take away personal responsibility and interaction and success rates plummet.
Government cannot effectively solve housing, saving, retirement, healthcare or poverty for exactly these reasons. It's my responsibility to see that the folks I know make their way through life without being homeless and broke. And though that may mean giving them a bedroom or money, it more often means living in relationship and community - encouragement, suggestions, introductions to others. All with a faith that God will work it out and we'll all be okay.
Fear gets us a "somebody needs to fix this" mentality, government and life. And that is no life. Faith gets us a "I don't know how it'll work, but I feel called to do this" life. Adventurous and scary and not always successful (at least in our eyes), but alive.
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2 comments:
WONDERFUL post, Steve. I SO agree - we've stepped away from the personal responsibility completely. You can see it in the world - "It's not my fault! My dad abandoned me!" - but I am sad to say I've seen it in those who bear the name of Christ, too.
Thank you for putting it so elequently.
Steve I am really enjoying your posts ..like I said in an email to you they are really deserving of some careful thought ..today on the way to Hendersonville I remembered something ( barely ) , I could hardly wait to get home and find this passage ... I thought it was in Samuel and I was correct , but I was not prepared for the clarity of God's response to Samuel. For me this might be a good staring point ...not sure why ...but at least I am nudged to post it . 1 Samuel 8
Israel Asks for a King
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead [a] us, such as all the other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."
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