Liberal Democrats love to say Conservatives hate government. Not true. Because of the Bible (see Romans 13:1-7 for example), Christian Conservatives, in particular, understand the necessity of government. We also, however, accept the truth that man is a fallen creature, that those we give the power to rule us will abuse that power.
Read 1 Samuel 8 carefully. As the remainder of 1 Samuel shows us, after the people of Israel demanded a king, God punished Israel by giving the people of Israel exactly what they asked for. Consider how Saul became the King of Israel. Read the story of his rule. In Saul the people of Israel received the king they asked for, and they suffered. Why? Just as the people of Israel rejected God’s rule over them, Saul rejected God’s authority. The people of Israel wanted a man to reign over them. In effect, they wanted a man to idolize, but no man is worthy of worship.
Throughout our history we have been tempted to seek a man to rule over us. How? What are the ways of such a temptation?
- Laziness/Ignorance: Choices create stress, and that is one of the things that makes a society that prizes liberty and freedom difficult for some people. Every decision we make — every dollar we spend — is our own vote for what our society values. In a free society, we each choose our religious beliefs, places of worship, friends, jobs, houses, cars, clothes, parking spaces, the color of our socks, and so forth. If we are not confident in our capacity to make decisions — if we don’t know how to make good decisions — then every decision we make adds to our stress level. Eventually we want someone else to make our decisions for us. This is one of the reasons we must take care to educate our children properly. Without the ability to routinely make proper decisions and manage the stress of decision-making, our children cannot live as a free people. Conniving demagogues will happily make decisions (vote their dollars) for them.
- Shame/Selfishness: One of the complaints against Christianity is that Christian beliefs promote Socialism. That is, demagogues point to our obligation to help our poor neighbors, and then they try to guilt us into giving them our tax dollars so that they can help our neighbors using our money. That approach, however, misrepresents Christianity . As 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, we are to be cheerful givers, not let demagogic politicians twist our arms. The Bible does not call upon us to set up a welfare state. God wants us to love and help each other voluntarily.
- Covetousness/Greed: Covetousness is the flip side of what demagogues call our obligation to help our poor neighbors. When politicians redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor, they shame the rich and entice the poor with covetousness and greed. Don’t we all crave things we cannot afford? Don’t we all want what we desire now? Doesn’t the prospect of working for decades for what we want depress us a bit? That’s why when a demagogue promises us what the rich have we find his promises appealing. All we have to do is accept his bribe and give him our votes.
- Fear/Security: How does a child act when that child is afraid? Don’t frighten children run for their mothers? What happens when we become adults? Do we entirely lose that instinct? No. We hunt for a protector. Devoted Christians turn towards God. We understand that the only true security lies in loving and obeying our Lord, but what do other people do? Government is the choice of many, and many, for the sake of the false promise of security, sell their birthright of liberty.
- Pride/Esprit de corps: In each of us there is something missing. We seek meaning, an identity in someone larger than our self. We all want to be part of something great and important, bigger than our self. Those who acknowledge and worship God seek their identity in Him; they strive to obey Him. Others turn to gods or idols of their own making. Modern idols include science, sex, stuff, state, and self. What is the problem with idols, even these idols. Instead of giving glory to God, we use idols to get what we want. Instead of the study of God’s creation, science becomes the search for proof man does not need God. Instead of procreation, sex becomes of tool for endless forms of pleasure. Instead, of a means for doing good, our stuff becomes our playthings. Instead of a tool for protecting each others rights, the state becomes a device for getting what we want from our neighbors. Instead of giving our bodies over to the worship of God and obedience to Him, our self becomes the identity we must raise in importance above all others. If we don’t know God, we turn to each other for confirmation, and we join in praise of ourselves.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
And what is the reaction of the idol worshippers to those who refuse to participate. A logical argument? No. Damnation! The idol worshipers think they know the truth because they think they are the truth. Don’t they ultimately worship themselves? Isn’t everything ultimately about them, their science, their sexual pleasure, their piles of stuff, their powerful state, and their beautiful self? Therefore, to oppose them is the only evil that matters, and those who oppose them are only worthy of scorn and shame.
Citizen Tom 
I’m not convinced of Paine’a reading of 1 Samuel 8. The warning of God is a warning that can be applied to any form of government—especially our own in the United States.
I just recently read through the book of Judges—some of them weren’t any better than Saul. However, in the system of monarchy, in Christendom, what you would at least have is a baptized King—or queen—with an office of vocation; anointed by the Bishop or a Pope even.
Sure, there were problems, you can throw up Saul but I can say well I’d rather have a King like King Louis IX of France then Constitutional government.
We shouldn’t codify the constitution as something sacred—it’s not. It’s a product of the Enlightenment which is anti-Divine Revelation; it just is with the entire precipice of John Locke, Jefferson, et al.
The formation of a secular government in the United States and the formation of secular European nation states after World War I. We have seen more corruption and death in the modern age than could have been imagined by Dante in the 14th century writing the Inferno.
@Phillip
The Framers of the Constitution did not claim the Constitution was God’s work, but they did recognize their ability to create a workable compromise was an act of divine providence. If we can do anything, it is only because He makes it possible.
The point of the Book of Judges is that men were doing what seemed right in their own eyes. That was Saul’s problem. He would not defer to God’s commands.
I think the lesson of 1 Samuel 8 is that our government should not center on a man. We need to recognize the truth of Romans 13:1-7. Government is a gift of God. He ultimately chooses our leaders according to His plan.
Our government works best when we recognize God’s authority and choose leaders who recognize that their authority comes from God. We don’t need to create a theocracy, but we do each need to pray for His wisdom when we vote.
It does work best when recognize God’s authority, which is why it also worked well when King Louis IX was King of France because he recognized God’s authority and took it seriously.
So, is the avalanche of secularism is too great to then the tied within the republic?
@Phillip
Whether the tide of Secularism can be turned back is up to God.
Tom,
I agree with your post. However, regarding Covetousness/Greed: the present wealth gap in the USA needs to be addressed by both religious and government if our Republic is to survive breaking up in the future, in my opinion.
Keeping in mind there is a distinct difference between Religion and Government.
I have suggested death taxes as a solution. That way, the super wealthy can live and enjoy in life whatever earthly pleasures they choose. And when they die their wealth will be returned to the Republic or whatever charity they choose.
That way no living person can complain about unfair taxation rates or create divisiveness in our Republic because of unfairness in taxation which caused King Solomon’s kingdom to divide after his death.
The American Indians believed that land belonged to everyone.
In other words, do take away the incentives for the rich to choose to work all they want while they are alive and/or gather all the earthly treasures they desire while they are alive.
Then do as King Solomon suggested.
“To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:25)”
If Interested, read the previous post and the Source titled “” Ticking Time Bomb”
https://rudymartinka.com/2019/11/24/king-solomon-blog-right-idea-on-wealth-taxes-clue/
Regards and goodwill blogging.
@Scatterwisdom
Good intentions do not make something good.
1. When the purpose of taxation is to redistribute the wealth, that is stealing. It leads also to politicians buying votes.
2. There are always unintended consequences. Because they have to be paid, death taxes force the liquidation of small businesses. If we are talking about the death of a major stockholder of a corporation, the sudden sale of a large amount of stock can crater stock price.
3. Government welfare programs mainly exist to buy votes. Government has very little capacity to help people who cannot help themselves. So even if the government gets the money, little good will be done.
4. Government does not rightly own anything because government does produce anything. The people as individuals or corporate profit or nonprofit entities have the right of ownership. Therefore, the notion that the “republic” has the right to assume ownership of a dead person’s estate, instead of legitimate heirs, is cockeyed. In fact, every time we give politicians more control control of our nation’s wealth, we just further impoverish ourselves.
Tom,
I agree with your comments. However, what you need to realize is my statement:
“Keeping in mind there is a distinct difference between Religion and Government.”
For example, Jesus Christ verses to give to Caesar what is Caesars and how hard it will be for a wealthy man to enter his Kingdom.
Your opening comment “Good intentions do not make something good” if applied to the founder of our Republic Kingdom, points us to the real crux of the problem in our Republic. And that is our republic has been mismanaged over time.
Keeping in mind these realities of today.
1. Our Republic Kingdom is currently 23 trillion dollars in debt.
2. One percent own more than 80 percent of the wealth and some people are living in three castles while some are living in tents
3. There are limited resources in our world.
4. Our Republic believes in freedom of choice and not everyone is either wise or believes in Jesus Christ.
In other words, our Nation has been mismanaged over time and we now must find a way to manage to get out of the mess we are in.
If the one percent of wealthy would choose to believe in two Kingdoms and love their children, they would never leave them all their wealth and make it more difficult to enter the eternal Kingdom.
For example, I visited the home of Thomas Edison in Fort Meyers last week and the tour guide stated that their estate was sold by Edison’s wife to the city for one dollar.
If the one percenter would choose to give away their wealth and follow Jesus, they would share their wealth before they die. Same as I suggested in choice be given to every one to choose after death to either give their wealth to the government or charity.
In other words, we need good management to straighten out the bad management that has occurred in our Republic Kingdom.
That is the basis of my good intentions of my blog messages to reinstate the death tax, reinstate school choice, and return charity to good people instead of government management, and pay down the National Debt so the tax money goes to managing the government instead of paying interest.
We are running out of limited time and limited resources, and limited ways to manage what has been mismanaged ever since the founding of our Republic Kingdom and the certain disasters that will take place in the nearing future if we stay on our present course which I explained in my last blog post.
https://rudymartinka.com/2020/02/01/king-solomon-blog-prudence-of-medicare-and-social-security-end/
If you have a better wiser suggestion how to manage the mess we are in, I am interested. Keep in mind the motto of my blog is what the world needs now in addition to love is wisdom.
We are the masters of our own disasters.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
@Scatterwisdom
You are trying to use the end to justify the means. The noble end? Paying off the national debt. The means? Robbing the dead, forgetting they would prefer their wealth go to their heirs, not conniving politicians.
Why do we have a growing national debt? Do we have a spending, or do we have a taxation problem? If we have a spending problem, will any increase in taxation rates do any good?
Are our taxes as high as they should be? How high is high enough? Well, considering the fact that we are at the point where increasing the tax rates does not increase the amount of revenue, there is not much point in raising taxes any further.
Therefore, I suggest giving up on the death tax. It is just an exercise in futility. All that will happen is that rich people will have yet another reason to buy off politicians. The rich will want politicians to create tax loopholes so that they can pass their wealth onto their heirs. That’s why the politicians want these taxes. They don’t have any noble end in mind.
Tom,
If we continue to mismanage our Republic Kingdom, one thing for certain about bankruptcy is that it is not a noble end.
So what should be done is my question to you to prevent what is certain to happen in the near future when taxes keep rising to pay the interest. In Chicago, 50 percent of taxes is now being used to pay interest now.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
@Scatterwisdom
What happens when government takes in less money than it spends? The usual result is inflation. Because we have a fiat currency, excess spending increases the money supply and causes currency to lose value. That is because more currency is chasing the same amount of goods. An exception occurs when the amount of goods and services increases faster than the money supply.
What happens if the inflation rate rises to the point that people lose confidence in the currency? That interferes with commerce. It becomes difficult to trade because the lack of confidence in the currency forces us back into a barter economy.
So what is my solution? We need to start dismantling the welfare state. Ideally, we would slowly and methodically dismantle the welfare state, starting with the public school system. That way private agencies will have time to form and take over.
In addition, I would put the United States government back on the gold standard. Most people don’t stop to think about it, but money is not a government invention. Consider that during colonial times the colonials used receipts from tobacco warehouses for currency. They did that because the UK had sucked up all the gold currency back to the UK.
If allowed, private banks and other such organizations would happily create something that works better than fiat currency. The only concern government should have is defining what is acceptable for paying our taxes.
Note also that the only real value that our fiat currency has is that we use it to pay our taxes. Otherwise, those green bills would have no value.
Tom
You are right to mention inflation will result. However, the USA has never experienced super inflation and that is in the cards once trust in the US dollar ends.
The only reason there is trust is because the USA allows dollars to be used to buy up USA farmland and corporations by holders of vast amounts of USA dollars.
As for returning to the gold standard, there are pros and cons of how the gold standard constrains economic expansion. One thing for certain is there is not enough gold in existence to pay down 23 trillion dollars National Debt.
Or will cutting welfare ever pay down the National Debt.
Or will taxing the wealthy rates up to 90 percent as Truman did after WWII.
Sad, when the time comes, everyone’s benefits will be cut in time unless something is done in the very near future.
If interested, read again my post about the ticking time bomb and the source link who explains how the real National Debt exceeds 100 trillion and even now death taxes must be shared by everyone to pay down the debt, in my opinion.
Sad or bad will make no difference when super inflation occurs?
Regards and goodwill blogging.
You’ve hit a lot of nails directly on their heads Tom, well done. Especially when it comes to people allowing others to rule and/or control them. I don’t think anyone would admit to wanting this, or even realize they want it, but so many do. The so called “freedom” one gets by having basic needs taken care of by the state, can quickly turns in to shackles of dependency.
This is neither a compassionate nor caring way for societies to be structured, but alas, here we are. And yes, pointing this out does get you mocked in certain circles.
@Tricia
Look what they have done to Trump. They clearly don’t have an impeachable offense. Nevertheless, the impeached him just so they could shame him with it. Constitutional? Nope.