Is Government Your God?
- Patricia Smith
- Feb 23
- 6 min read
Is Government Your God?
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage. Alexander Fraser Tytler
No republic has long outlived the discovery by a majority of its people that they could vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. Alexander Fraser Tytler
Reference Points
A breakdown of our national debt reveals that approximately 60% of total government spending is automatically allocated to mandatory, i.e., welfare/entitlement spending. This includes social security, medicare, medicaid, SNAP, etcetera. This is an alarming and dangerous percentage of the federal budget leaving 14% to pay down the interest on the debt, and the remaining 26% for other budget categories including defense spending. We are in large part a nation of what I call “the ruled and the rulers” especially as demonstrated in this latest government shutdown.
The Ruled and the Rulers
The recent government shutdown, the cry from some citizens (and even some illegal aliens), and the politicians’ efforts to relieve such cries reveal a sad reality about “the ruled” and “the rulers”.
(As a note, “the ruled” are those who reject personal responsibility and illegitimately rely upon the government—in three words, “We the people”. “The rulers” are those who manipulate and exploit them by promising what they ought not such as health care, food, housing, and the like. They create a class of dependents, people who look to them to supply their needs. This is idolatry.) I will return to this.
Reasoning
We get more of what we incentivise, both in number and in extent. Hence, it is morally destructive to the subject as well as the nation to have a dependent or “entitled” segment of the population. Yet, for at least the first 150 years of our nation’s existence, we understood and adhered to the aforementioned principle. For example, in 1887, President Grover Cleveland “vetoed a congressional appropriation of $10,000…to help farmers in Texas who were suffering from a drought” (Notgrass 355). President Cleveland biblically and constitutionally explained,
I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people.
The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.
Notgrass further explained that
Cleveland believed that private charities should and would assist the struggling farmers. He was right. The farmers received ten times more financial assistance from private sources than they would have received through this federal appropriation. Perhaps the widespread expectation that the federal government will take care of our problems has squelched some of the individual and private charitable impulse (356).
Upon further research, one will find that there were incentives for the Democrats in particular, as well some Republicans, for forcing a government shutdown over healthcare. (See: Dems’ Shutdown Strategy Benefits Health Insurance Firms That Give Millions in Campaign Contributions.) For if Democrats are willing, ready, and adamant about the destruction of the pre-born child, how could a person ever think that they care about his/her health?
The Remedy
Recall that we are a constitutional republic, and a republic depends in part on a virtuous citizenry. The Preamble to our Constitution begins with We the People. In other words, We are the true “rulers” within the boundaries of the Constitution. As Abraham Lincoln reminded us, We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. As such, it is incumbent upon us to be personally responsible and self-governing. We are called to be free men, not to be enslaved to our elected representatives. In fact, their chief responsibilities are to secure our God-given rights and to protect us and our private properties from enemies foreign and domestic.
Should not the true “cry” be what President John F. Kennedy declared: “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”?
Realize
God has given each person at least one talent, skill, and/or aptitude, and with the employment of these, we earn a living–start a business, excel in a trade, or work for an employer. If we accept these as gifts from God, a small window of understanding is opened concerning our dignity, and we gain a certain level of fulfillment if we do our work for His honor. In short, we are called to personal responsibility and self-government under God.
Personal responsibility shifts the focus from another to where it should be–upon ourselves. With what we have, we are accountable to God to provide for ourselves and our families. Be it food, housing, healthcare, etcetera, these should not be demanded of someone else.
Recognize
However, each of us deal with difficulty of one sort or another, and we all need help at times. This is the reality of living in a fallen world. Accordingly, our good God has made provision for us in various ways. The primary way is through our families. When family members help one another in the right spirit, their relationships are strengthened. Faithful friends are also blessings in our time of need. Then, of course, there is the Church. When its members give sacrificially to their benevolence fund, their local church is able to temporarily assist its members and non-members in their distresses. Lastly, there are private groups or associations such as rescue missions, homeless shelters, certain hospitals and clinics, etcetera, who exist for the purpose of assisting individuals or families to “get back on the feet” toward independence.
Yet, nowhere in Scripture is it prescribed that we go to the civil government for such aid. It is simply not why God instituted it. In fact, I note two interesting facts from the Bible. One, when Jesus fed thousands on several occasions, He did not establish some sort of welfare “gravy train” for the masses. Two, He did not instruct the people to go to Caesar for their needs.
Redemption
Difficulties and suffering are not without purpose. They can strengthen family bonds, spur the church to greater and more effective outreach within the community, and also become the basis for the missions of private associations. However, most importantly, difficulties and suffering work to drive us to God. For the believer, we cry out to God trusting Him and knowing that He is sovereign over every area of our lives. He will take care of us. He will comfort and strengthen us. He will conform us more and more into the image of Christ, and He will never leave nor forsake us.
For the unbeliever, suffering and difficulties also work to drive you to God. Suffering can break the stubborn will and soften the hardened heart so that you will see your desperate need for the Lord and cry out to Him. God alone is the Provider, but He calls every sinner to turn from his sins and to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He alone is to be completely trusted in and relied upon.
So, if you’re suffering, don’t allow it to be wasted. The pains of hell are infinitely greater, and they last for eternity. Therefore, turn to the Lord. Worship Him only.
Refusing Idolatry
To put anyone or anything in the place of God is idolatry. God alone is the Savior from sin. He alone is the Healer. He alone is the Provider and Sustainer. Neither the government nor anyone else qualifies.
In his exceptional book, Historical and Theological Foundations of Law: Volume I: Ancient Wisdom, John Eidsmoe provides a keen observation which also reflects our and other nations today. He notes,
An age which rejects the transcendent God of the Bible places man, and the State as the greatest of man’s institutions, on the throne in the place of God. We give to the State all authority, we expect the State to make all important decisions, we look to the State for all material blessings, and we trust the State to make our laws and define our values. Truly, for many of us the State has become our god. (479, emphasis mine)
Let 2026, be your turning point. Turn to God, not to government.
References
Eidsmoe, John A. Historical and Theological Foundations of Law-Volume I: Ancient Wisdom. Nordskog Publishing, 2011.
Notgrass, Ray. Exploring Government. Notgrass Company, 2016.
Comments