Change is a good thing, in fact one of the best of things. Over the last few years, I have set out to clarify my political belief system because deep inside my spirit I was not at peace with some of the ideas and philosophies I had been supporting. In 2002 I was a vocal cheerleader of the Iraq invasion and virtually any kind of military or homeland security initiative that came down the pike. During the ensuing years we experienced the birth of The Department of Homeland Security, Patriot Act, nation building, and endless military interventions under the guise of a “war on terror”. Also during these years, our nation embarked on the largest domestic expansion of entitlement programs in a generation leading to a tripling of the national debt. I have always been compelled to believe in the idea of “limited government” but was naïve in believing the only way to enact limited government was through some type of tax cuts. As it turns out, tax cuts are a favorite method of politicians from all parties to make you feel they are cutting government, while at the same time expanding it by borrowing and printing new money so the massive expansion of the state goes unchecked with the approval of a governing majority. As it turns out all politicians will claim to make government: smaller, more efficient, less wasteful, compassionate, and more responsive. In the end all these politicians really move us in one unstoppable direction at odds with our founding fathers vision; centralized authority.
God warned us about the dangers of centralized power. After being set free from the bondage of Egypt, Israel went through various times of stable living followed by times of chaos and even civil war. According to Judges “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes” (21:25). The problem, the people surmised, was they were too “different” from the other nations and needed a strong and powerful central authority that could provide order and security. Under Samuel’s leadership as Judge and priest, Israel lived under God’s justice and times were generally good. When Samuel’s sons rebelled against God another crisis arose and this time the people were absolutely convinced they wanted a king. Samuel, a man in touch with God knew what would happen if the people followed through and gave the following warning: “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots.…He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and courtiers. He will take…the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. You shall be his slaves. In that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day” (1 Sam 8:11-18).
Samuel made it clear that accepting a king would be no different than returning to the slavery of Egypt. God’s best is that we accept him as our king and not look to the government. Walk through Washington DC, and you see white stone buildings in the mode of Greek temples, glorifying one aspect of government or another. Is it possible this is an act of idolatry?
fides quaerens intellectum (faith seeking understanding)
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