It makes us wince a bit when we see just how out of control our government has become and realize that there is no way of returning it to the principles that made it great. The Colonies separated in a bloody manner from a government that they felt was oppressive, only to find ourselves caught up in a bureaucracy that no human could have envisioned 200 yrs ago. We are taxed at every move, need permits and registration to own or use anything we have, and anything that was legal in George Washingtons day is illegal now and vice versa. In the US, not only is it illegal to not have health insurance, but its illegal to not have a permanent address. So by the time the government takes/taxes everything you have, its also illegal to not have more for them to take. Each year the Federal government adds nearly 40,000 new laws, not counting IRS, state, county , local and homeowners associations. Its entirely out of control.
It sounds hopeless doesn’t it? There is no new land left to discover and nowhere to escape. Or is there?
First, let me be clear, I am not anti-government or anything like that. I do believe that the place we jumped the tracks is when we began to rely on the government to do the things that Christians were once specialists in, serving our fellow man. Consider this, we have roughly 123,000 orphans in the US and 250,000,000 Christians at 350,000 churches. Why is that? If Christians were doing what Jesus commanded, there would be no need for government(multiple) agencies to handle this. If we were training our kids right, and helping others fill the gap, we wouldn’t have 2.2 million Americans in prison and a huge bureaucracy to deal with them. If we were caring for our neighbors, we wouldn’t have 109,631,000 Americans on welfare and that monster program. We would still need a lot of folks to run the country, but not 23.8 million federal employees, and that includes 95,000 IRS persons.
Here’s my message: Our government is out of control and will likely be till its demise. I’m saying that we can liberate ourselves from it by returning to our Christian ideals. We don’t need a government program to care for one another. If someone has a need, we step in, regardless what program is available. We need to take responsibility for one another. Perhaps we don’t need a new car, we could maybe buy a couple used ones and give one to a single mom. Maybe our old furniture could last another year and we could hand out a bunch of gift cards from a local grocery to folks who need it instead. Consider not going up north to the cabin this weekend and go visit a couple old folks in a home and let them show you the world.
Americans are absolutely wasting their lives on self gratification and finding it empty. Our society makes it possible to justify every greedy little thought you have, every desire that you have, you deserve. Fools, we’ve never been more obese physically and starving morally. Francis Schaeffer called it” Suffocating in the stench of a completely affluent society” in Death of a City. Perhaps we can begin to release self gratification and trade it for joy and inner peace. The government can take/tax away all your crap, but they can’t tax joy and inner peace. There may be a cold day coming that makes that a reality. I may become oppressed, but I will not become a worldly slave. I won’t give this world that power. Jim Elliot said” He is no fool that trades what he cannot keep for what he cannot lose.”
Friends, I can’t change the world, but I can make a difference to somebody and that’s a good place to start. If you’re hungry, I’m not sure if I can fill your fridge, but I can share my lasagna and a bunch of tomatoes in the garden. If your car is broke, I can’t buy you a new one but I can give you a lift to work. I can’t fix the world, but a can spare more than I have been for my persecuted brothers and sisters in other countries.That’s where it all starts, simple things that can make a difference. I’d really like to hear from you about the differences that you will make. Share on, friends
humbleshoeshineboy 