I write commentary. I am not a reporter. I say what I think. I am not writing to please you or anyone else. I am not writing because I have all the answers to God and Government and have it figured out. I am developing views constantly politically and spiritually. Growth is healthy.
I can say with some certainty that God is not a Democrat or a Republican. I know that PJ O’Rourke begs to differ. And I’m not gonna lie, this still makes me giggle.
I am a Christian. One that believes the Bible and prays and knows that she answers to God – not her government. I know not all of you are. That’s your choice, and I will never look down on anyone for that. But that’s where my perspective is – take it or leave it. I had someone tell me the other night that “Jesus certainly would not be a Republican – I know that much”. That infuriated me for some reason. Reading through that conversation now, it probably shouldn’t have, but it made me think, that’s for sure… and was the inspiration for this post.
I will hesitantly admit that I understand Christian liberals on one level. The book of Acts is commonly cited as Biblical support for Socialism. I admit, it’s pretty convincing. However, as I see it, there is one major difference: the community life recorded in Acts was among believers. In my personal life, with my family and my friends, we give as much as we can to each other. We lend each other our cars, we watch each others’ kids, we cook meals for each other. I know that I can call on them for anything, and they can call on me for the same. THAT is the Biblical communal life. Jesus was NOT a Socialist. He gives to each according to what they can handle. God is not concerned with “equality”. Do we not think that He could make everything “equal” if he wanted to? We are meant to take care of each other out of love – not taxation. We are still a wealthy nation, even in a recession, and it is Biblical to give, to take care of others. Nowhere does that Biblical mandate get passed off to the government and remove our personal accountability.
God gets mad when we put other people above Him. Liberals want us to rely on the government. The Pelosis and Obamas of our government treat government like the solution to humanity’s problems. They are anything BUT a solution! Imaginary money will NOT fix things. We can “bailout” and “offer a hand up, not a hand out” all day long, but at the end of the day, when the government bankrupts itself and states run out of money to pay for anything, NO ONE WINS. The rich BECOME the downtrodden. And if there are no more rich, there is no one to offer that “hand up” when people actually need it.
While it may sound all well and good to help poor people and minorities and women and on and on and on… it doesn’t work on a government level. It doesn’t work because we are imperfect. People cannot handle a system like that. We take advantage of it, and it is not a sustainable solution to the problems we are facing. To sum it up in a dear friend’s words: Fiscal liberals live in a land of rainbows and unicorns. The help we are called to give as Christians should come from our hearts. THAT is the kind of giving that God mandates. Not government redistribution of wealth.
This is what I believe to be true: God wants us accountable to HIM, not the government. God doesn’t want us to beg for a king. He sets up government so we don’t destroy each other, so there is a basic order to things, but we are not to fully rely on our leaders, because they, at some point, will fail us. They are human, it’s their nature – I don’t care if they are Democrats or Republicans.
My motivation in politics is to minimize the conflict between God’s law and man’s law. From what I can figure, that can’t happen when the government thinks it’s running the show. THAT is why I don’t see Jesus being a liberal, and why I am not a liberal. It has nothing to do with me being an evil person, with me thinking it’s okay for us to ignore those who are less fortunate. I love poor people and black people and polar bears and beluga whales and all those other things that liberals tell us we hate. I even love the babies that the left is so insistent on making optional. I’m simply coming from the perspective that you cannot allow that responsibility to be placed in government hands. They screw things up. They do not have your best interests at heart – they have theirs. God is the one with your best interests at heart. Period.
Simply put, I’m asking for a government that doesn’t compete with God. They will ALWAYS lose.
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Very well said. I used to be liberal, but my faith journey led me to becoming a conservative, for many of the reasons that you articulate (even though I may not have fully understood the process at the time).
I came up with a saying out of anger, because as a conservative I was accused of being uncaring. Sometimes I wish I could just yell it out to liberal friends or at the TV. “It’s largely because of conservatives donating money and volunteering their time, that liberals get to claim the credit for a compassionate society.” They claim credit, while at the same time they are always saying society is not compassionate enough and we (everyone else) need to give more to government to make up for the compassion shortage.
Anyway, that thinking on my part is not very Christian or humble, but it’s honest.
I could go on, but then maybe I should write my own blog.
God bless you. I hope to meet you in Denver soon.
Ditto!
And, that ditto is for “Why I Write”.
Ms. Hale, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your statements so eloquently written here. Jesus didn’t petition Pilate or Rome to set up a government program to feed the hungry and clothe the poor, He did it himself and commands us to do the same. It’s not the government’s job, it’s our job. In our post-Christian pluralistic culture, it seems the government has replaced the traditional role of the Church for so many who reject faith, so they replace the role of Priest with that of the Politician, and the role of those who minister with that of the federal program. This shortly leads to enslavement, without the incentive to move beyond the handout. Thank you for your insight, and I look forward to reading more from your perspective.
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Tabitha–
I really love what you’ve written here. I’m 48, a Deadhead, college religion (Bible) professor/administrator & lifelong Republican. You’ve done a really good job of articulating a biblically-informed rationale for conservatism.
Do you mind if I steal this & share it with my students? (I assume you won’t mind.)
Thank you! DO NOT GROW WEARY IN DOING GOOD! (Galatians 6.9) Don’t let all the crap discourage you. Keep up the good work.