July 14, 2008
Lawsuits
My local newspaper recently reported on political candidates in a neighboring county. The platform of one candidate for county commissioner is interesting. He says, “As far as building codes and zoning, I am opposed to them – completely.” The candidate believes if you have a zoning problem (your neighbor puts in a junkyard) you settle it between yourselves and if that doesn’t work, you take him to court. My first thought is, without building codes and zoning, there’s nothing for the court to rule on. It’s surprising how many people, even among believers, think going to court is the answer. Let me confess that a few years ago when the church leadership refused me access to the financials I requested (like the staff salaries and savings accounts) my knee-jerk reaction was ‘let’s take them to court’…but alas, First Corinthians 6: 1-8 got in my way.
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Gail;
-----In the history of mankind, government has been responsible for far more human suffering than any other human activity. If that suffering has not been delivered by war and its immediate effects, famine and disease, then it has been delivered by arrogant and intrusive laws. There is always someone who wants to tell other people what to do and how to live; it is a personality type. Government gives those people a stage, because there is far too little thoughtfulness towards one another in this life for us to live without government. The over-controlling nature of the usual governmental type and the necessity of government to foster a civil, social environment are the two boundaries which must be considered regarding any legislation.
-----Decades ago, the predominant attitude seemed to be, “Enjoy your freedom, and we will deal with any problems, whether civil or criminal, after they happen.” But alas, a new mentality was conceived by the turn of the twentieth century, and had grown to a vibrant maturity by the 1960’s. It was no longer sufficient to just deal with the problems that arose as people lived their lives, but now, even the possibilities of problems had to be legislated away. So some folks in some cities lost their right to self defense as guns were banned to prevent what actually came from evil hearts - crime. Product laws began restricting this and outlawing that until it is nearly impossible to find a decent coffee maker that will serve your coffee warmer than luke, or to find a car that has breaks actually biting into the pavement and bringing your car to a quick stop without releasing every time your tires begin to get that bite, or matches that strike with one sweep against a surface rather than requiring a brisk back and forth scraping. And, if you want to build a playhouse of more than 10X12 feet for your daughter, you’re going to need a county building permit, inspection and all. And worse, as state laws have been written regarding propane service, if you own your tank and simply call a different supplier to fill it than who last filled it, you are going to need to run a pressure test on your indoor gas lines and have it signed off by the state plumbing inspector. I work alone in my office. Three quarters of the time there is no one in it besides myself, even during tax season (I am a CPA). Yet, if I light up a cigarette at my desk I break a city ordinance protecting the health of the other person who ain’t anywhere around!
-----Yes government is necessary. And yes, the running of it requires folks who do not mind being intrusive, because good laws should intrude upon peoples’ rights to do bad things. But, after laws have risen to a level covering the ordinary situation, people’s basic freedoms should not be further eroded merely to cover also the unordinary
circumstances. If I want to build a shed on my property, why should I not be able to build it?
-----”But it blocks your neighbor’s view of the pretty mountains, and thus diminishes the value of his property.”
-----Good answer. The value of my neighbor’s property is effected by my exercise of the rights of ownership I hold in my property. And each of my rights of ownership add value to my property. If the right to build a shed on my property is taken from me, that in turn reduces the value of my property. So, am I to reduce the value of my property so my neighbor can retain the value of his? Of course, the government has said yes. That is why we have zoning laws and building codes.
-----But I do not have a neighbor within 250 yards of my home. Nobody’s view will be blocked by my shed. I should not be bothered by any laws and codes that are irrelevant to my situation. I am entirely unimpressed by the way we all run around puffing about our freedom from one side of our mouths, while from the other side, expressing indifference towards those harmed by overbearing laws.
-----Rather, we all should become advocates for restricting laws to only their places of significant effect. That is where the courts come in. If I build a shed upon my unzoned property, and my neighbor shows up the next day claiming damage, someone is going to need to weigh his rights against mine to determine which are the more significant. Although most folks place great reliance upon I Corinthians 6:1-8, there is no way I would trust the leaders of XYZ Church to settle an issue like this, seeing they stole that church themselves. Neither would I consider the leaders of any other church much more capable, seeing they all admit to the fellowship and unity of the whole body, yet stingily bogart the members of their own little church to themselves, making no effort for them to regularly fellowship, rejoice, or labor with the other churches around. In this spiritual environment, I Corinthians 6:1-8 expresses the way things out to be more than it expresses the way they actually are. Regardless of the great erosion of justice within the courtrooms, the church has earned little respect with which to be effective, and our law is near to being our new fuhrer. So far, I still lean a bit towards the courtroom, considering it is the remnant of an institution once respectful towards the Word.
Love,
Steve Corey
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