January 20, 2009
Inauguration Day
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God…For he is God’s servant to do you good... He is God’s servant…Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” Romans 13:1, 4-5 NIV
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Gail;
-----It is truly sad that America has almost entirely forgotten who her governing authority is. Now, I’m not referring to God. He gives authority to all governments, and ultimately He is the governing authority. But that is a different discussion for a different time. I am talking about the Constitution of the United States. Our founding fathers had the wisdom to vest the authority for governance into a document so that everyone could find agreement by submitting to it. Common submission to that document was to be our assurance that tyranny would not overcome the land. And as long as the concept of submitting to it would carry through the generations, freedom from tyranny would also carry through the generations.
-----This form of government was established by the classical liberalism of the American colonies. It broke from the tyranny of kings in Europe at the same time a different form of liberalism was also breaking away there. Here, the liberalism recognized the reality of God and the relationship of the individual to God. Therefore, our constitutional government first recognizes God, and second, recognizes the individual’s freedom and responsibility before God. These are the inalienable rights the constitution seeks to preserve. And the only way a group of free and responsible people can cooperate in a society is by the formation of a contract, the Constitution.
-----But simultaneously, in Europe, their liberalism was being based upon the thinking of different philosophers. Their efforts to break from the tyranny of the kings was driven by the mentality that saw the authority of government coming from the will of the people, not from God. Indeed, the drive of the French revolution was to empower a human figurehead by the collective will of the masses. The figurehead was to assure that all individuals laid down their individuality to take up the will of the masses. The governance of the people was truly by the people, through the figurehead, and God must be dead. The revolution that spread through Europe over the next two centuries, and is today threatening to change our lives in America, seeks to empower the masses through a figurehead and exterminate both God and individuality. If you know the history of the French Revolution, I am sure you understand what I mean by exterminate.
-----Those of you who have been sober and watchful can recognize these same threads reweaving the fabric of our government. The substance of their philosophy is experimentation, and they see governance as the experiment. We have been used to calling them liberals, but the accurate term for them is Progressives. Change is their perpetual vision. Although they feign submission to the contract, they break it continually by saying its words mean whatever. And breaking the contract is their goal, because contracts do not allow for change without authorized amendment. The possession of the guns of government by the empowerment of the masses is their agency, because whoever has the most guns can say words mean whatever they want them to mean.
-----Therefore, to which government does the Word require our submission? To the government contractually formed? Or to the government that holds the masses in one hand and the guns in the other? Some will submit to the contractual government, because it is the legal government. They understand that even the elected representatives and appointed judges are to submit to the contract. They believe peace is by contract. But others believe their representatives are the government, and that God directs everyone to submit to them for peace in the land. And this is our great divide - the polarization you hear of so often.
-----Folks, personally I am big on contracts. My precious Dad taught me that contracts are for abidance. And my Heavenly Father contracts with man. I see mutual freedom in contracts. I see a collection of individual sovereignties that are all equal in importance, treatment, and voice. That is the government to which I desire to submit. The new government that has been weaving since the beginning of the twentieth century is now almost woven. It holds the guns of governance and the power of the masses. Those guns will gain for it my peaceful co-existence. But neither it nor the masses will gain my respect, and my efforts will always be to dissolve the fabric of the illegal government.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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