Articles
Misconception and Misattribution
Our society has become so politicized that now we are having discussions over whether or not babies born alive should be left to die, and all because someone made abortion a political topic and a matter of "women's rights" or "women's health," rather than the moral and ethical matter it actually is. Think about it: We are actually having a discussion about whether or not to kill a newborn baby!
But this is what happens when we politicize everything, instead of judging issues on their ethical or moral weight. The problem with this is, if there is just one voice loud enough to complain about his or her 'right' to do whatever he or she wants, then it becomes political and its morality or ethical definition never will be considered, and then everything becomes a matter of who has the most votes, not right or wrong.
Just in case we have allowed ourselves to get caught up in this manner of thinking, let's take the time to stop and consider some things that are heard in political discussions today that have faulty bases for their reasoning. At the heart, I believe we have lost sight of the true source for many things we have and enjoy.
The Freedoms We Have in This Country Are Not Guaranteed by God. Nowhere in God's word will you find the Constitution of the United States. Our Declaration of Independence did assert that men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" and "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Now, the men who wrote this may have meant that God gave us "certain inalienable [absolute, inherent] rights," but the interpretation of which "rights" those are is a matter of argument, since all "rights" are not specified in that Declaration. Our Constitution outlines some of those rights, we may agree, but I again must point out that many of the rights specified by the U.S. Constitution are not specified by God. It is shameful that even many sincere, religious individuals argue for those "rights" as if they were Scripturally-supported, when they clearly are not. If our government took away our "right" to speak freely, or "right" to peacefully assemble, or our "right" to keep and bear arms, what Scripture teaches us that violent responses and/or killing anyone is approved by God in the 'defense' of those "rights"?
Quite the opposite! God's word says, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God” (1 Pet. 2:13-16). God's word says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (Rom. 13:1, 2). No, we don't rise up against our government, or violently oppose it.
When we are bothered and/or feel threatened by our government with the possible loss of those rights, please remember that your argument must be based on the U.S. Constitution, not the word of God. Please do not confuse the two. If we lose some of those "rights," the government is not acting contrary to Scripture, and no man has the God-given "right" to "defend" those rights by killing another man, believing his personal "rights" are more valuable than a human life. It is shameful that so many of God's people would even make that argument, for our Lord never permitted killing another to secure personal rights. If anything, the apostle Paul gave us the example to follow, willingly surrendering personal "rights" for the possibility of saving souls and for the sake of others. [See 1 Cor. 8-10.]
The Freedoms We Have in This Country Are Not Won by Soldiers, But a Privilege Afforded by God. I am an ex-Army man and have a high respect for those men and women who literally lay their lives on the line for their country. At the same time, I know that if God so desired it, all of our weaponry, military intelligence, and decades of military strategy expertise would mean nothing. Hear King David: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God" (Psa. 20:7). Update the words "chariots" and "horses" to "tanks" and "missiles" and that should be our thinking, too.
Consider also the case of what were, at the time, the most powerful empires on earth who fell because God decreed it to be so [see Isa. 10:5-11; Isa. 13:1-22; Isa. 14:3-32; Isa. 30:1-11; and Isa. 31:1-3] and we realize we enjoy our freedoms because God controls all, raising up and bringing down governments and nations to fulfill His will --- not ours. Unless you or I can claim to know what God's plans are regarding our particular nation, it is highly presumptuous to say we can defeat "anyone, anytime, anywhere."
The Blessings We Enjoy Are Not Attributable to Government, per se, But to God. It is sad to me to see so many nowadays who look at the federal government as their "sugar daddy" and unlimited source of "goodies" and programs and giveaways to whomever wants it. Once, the majority of our society believed government was for the protection of the good and punishment of the evil (cf. Rom. 13:1-7), but somewhere along the line government became our nanny, our income provider, our job source, our educator, our health advisor, our dietician...and the list grows almost daily. Many men who seek to expand the government's role in our lives have an agenda that is meant to get people to trust in them [as representatives of the government institution] and rely on them as their source of anything and everything one might want. For some, their intent is devious and downright evil because they want [and have been successful in causing] many to no longer see God as our Provider, but "government." It is not coincidental that as government has grown in its reach and influence, God's place has diminished.
If we are blessed, give God the proper credit and praise. If our government fails us, God will still be with us. — Steven Harper
