Psalm 122:1-2 - I will lift up my eyes to the hills--from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
I struggled as I tried to write legibly in the dark while watching a Truth Project video in Sunday school! My friend next to me asked, "How can you see?" I sometimes think I have eyes like a cat... I scribbled and scribbled like I'd never heard this "chapter" of the study (which we viewed earlier this year). One can always hear something new, or it grabs hold in a new way. For me, after all, it's four months later and I'm four months smarter! Ahem...
The lesson in Sunday school yesterday could have been written this past year, not in 2007. It's about as timeless as the Word of God because it is the Word of God being taught. The question came up: can the state steal? After some discussion and examples it was said that, yes, legally the government can steal...but morally, it's wrong.
For Israel, God was their Higher Authority for a very long time. They had their comings and goings with Him but God was always faithful to persuade them to return to Him. It was, after all, to their benefit. They struggled and wandered without His guidance, His wisdom, His knowledge. When things fell apart they finally looked up where their help came from...
In 1Samuel, though, the people of Israel wanted a king like other nations. And a king God gave them. We were also reminded that no matter who is in power in a state or a nation, whether good or bad, God has placed them there. God is always in control. If we do not agree with our leader, we still must be obedient to him. Sometimes that's just the most frustrating thing, a plain difficult thing...and it can get to a point where we must stand up against him/them if we are placed in a position where we compromise our morals. Chances are, however, we have first gotten to a place of complacency until we realized our mistake. Then we hop on bandwagons and begin to hopefully effect change.
We are in that phase of life today. We are seeing today how government is desiring complete control...not of the people, by the people or for the people who were once part of one nation, under God. Our lesson today suggested that such a "king" would tax people for the government's sake and people would become slaves to this king. In the Bible people gave ten percent of their labors to God because they knew where their trust lay, but they were not slaves to God...He was their provision. Where do our taxes go? Certainly not to God. And we put up, so far, with laws and allowances that just should not be. Does the government really provide for us? Can we truly trust them or will we become their slaves?
We are seeing this history from 1Samuel being played out now. The whole point of 1Samuel (and the entire Bible), the accounts of how the king came into being and what transpired as a result, is there for us to learn from. But it seems we have not learned. Truth today is manipulated. It is being shoved aside for the lies of man, for the pride of man, the power hungry man. Our ways are not better than God's. Isaiah 55:8 shows us that: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
Before I go on, let me say this...there are those who are going to think negatively about that, thinking God wants no more than to run our lives. It's just that He does know better which direction we should go to be successful. When we do things on our own we may appear to be succeeding but we'll never know what better things might have happened had we chosen to follow God's plan. We will have a chance some day to look back and see where we've failed. I don't look forward to that one bit!
The role of government is to punish evil and condone good. I'm not so sure I'm seeing this happen. It seems to have been switched as the years have gone by. The study pointed out that the government, or our leader, should not be looked upon as our savior. That's a form of idolatry. And there are so many in this world who look to their government for their needs. Yes, there are some who genuinely do need help. But what about others who want to abuse the system or cheat the system to get what they want. What happened to working for a living and being proud of that? Now people want handouts. Where's the pride in that? How can they, with a clear conscience, do that? What about being a useful member of society? It's all about "what I can get from someone else" rather than "what I can do and give for someone."
There was a king, Uzziah, who was a godly king. For a good part of his life he trusted God and lived with good morals and prospered. His fame went before him...until pride stepped in and led to his downfall. With this pride he did the wrong thing in the eyes of God and that began his demise, including his being struck with leprosy. He never regained his previous godly life.
Like our own government, there is pride, power and anger toward those who contradict what is better. They don't see it that way, of course. This is what we see: if we can get rid of God, get rid of that which is contrary to our thinking, we can do as we please. Those moral issues like abortion, marriage, sexuality, lust of the eyes and flesh, the welfare state, if God is removed, can be looked upon as good, not evil. Quite the opposite of the role that government was created to do in the first place.
Let me tell you, this type of government, this type of thinking will not go unpunished some day. God takes account of every word and deed. Only if those doing "evil" have been touched by God in some way and they are able to submit to His authority in time, will they be forgiven of all they have done. We should be in constant prayer to our leaders that the Divine wisdom of God touch their lives.
We have entered a time where Christians need to stand up for what is right. We will not be looked upon favorably, but I'll tell you, if we stand firm in our beliefs, we will be the victorious ones some day! Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:56).
There is a very long and hard fight ahead of us and I'm afraid it will not look like we are making headway. The Word tells us in the last days these things will happen. If we are truly in the last days, things will only get worse. The goodness we fight for will be fought fiercely against by our enemy who has caused many to lose sight of good and followed evil. God help these people.
But God...is faithful to His people. His desire, even through all this, is that no man should perish but that all men should receive Him. It should be our prayer that those who are blind, lost and spiritually dead come to the knowledge of an all-knowing God (Ephesians 1:17) who loves us even when we have gone astray. Only He is able to forgive as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). There will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10)...not our government, no earthly man, but Christ Jesus who is alive in the heavenlies and is seated at the right hand of a loving God (Romans 8:34) whose only wish is for us to acknowledge Him.
It's time for those who believe these things, who trust in the Lord, who have been saved by Christ, to stand up for and stand firm in Him, to stand for what is morally right. I read or heard someone say "isn't it something that political conservatives are called 'the right?'" Something to ponder.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery... [So may we] walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy...(Galatians 5:1, Colossians 1:11).
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