© 2022 Don Pinson | [Download]
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The newscast is full of it. The newspapers’ main stories are about it. Bestseller books are often discussions of it. Why is there so much talk about government? What’s so important about government?
Well, like most things in today’s world, we generally talk around the topic instead of defining it. Why not go to the root of the issue and actually learn what we’re talking so much about.
The word government comes from the word govern. The word govern is defined in Noah Webster’s original American dictionary as control. Thus, government is the exercising of control. The first form of government we must learn is self-government. The art of governing ourselves means we control our appetites of the mind and the body. Self-government in the mind means we exercise control over our thoughts and think on what is “…noble…just…and pure…” as the Bible teaches us to (Philippians 4:8). This necessarily means we must control what goes into our minds; in other words, we control what we see, read, or listen to. Self-government in our body means we exercise control over our body appetites. Things like eating, resting, sleeping, and our desire for sex, are some examples of what we must learn to control.
Thus, if there is to be self-government, someone must say exactly what is to be controlled. This is where we generally start resisting the idea of self-government; because either we will accept someone else’s idea of what should be controlled in our minds and bodies, or we, ourselves, will determine what should be controlled. And since we all tend to act from selfishness, all of us start out wanting to be the one to “call the shots” about what we should or should not control. If we do accept someone else’s idea about self-control, then we have to decide: Is it going to be another man’s idea, or is it going to be God’s idea revealed in the Bible? If we’re going to accept a standard from outside ourselves, those are the only two choices we have. Jesus left no room for debate as to whether we should listen to God or listen to man. He stated,
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
Jesus, in no uncertain terms, is telling us to listen to God, not man! Thus, self-government can only be consistently achieved by surrendering these lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; and trusting His Spirit to work His self-control inside us.
Concerning civil government: Only if we are self-governed by the Spirit of God can we have the proper understanding as to how to operate civil government. How to recognize the right form of civil government, as well as choosing the right candidates to work in civil government, is dependent on our own walk of self-control. If we’re not controlling ourselves, how can we recognize self-control in someone else? And no person can be a good servant in civil government if his own desires are out of control.
America’s Founders understood this very well. Sam Adams, the Father of the American Revolution, said that to create the right kind of nation, we must teach,
“…little boys and girls…the art of self-government, without which they never can act a wise part in the government of societies, great or small; in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.”
(Adams, Samuel. October 4, 1790, in a letter to his cousin, Vice-President John Adams. Four Letters: Being an Interesting Correspondence Between…John Adams…and Samuel Adams (Boston: Adams & Rhoades, 1802). | Marshall Foster and Mary-Elaine Swanson, The American Covenant – The Untold Story (1981; Thousand Oaks, CA: The Mayflower Institute, 1983, 1992), p. xvi.)
Are you teaching your children the self-control of the “Christian system”? Are you surprised that there’s very little self-control among government servants?
Think about it; because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you—and for your children! And you won’t like what that brings to you. I’m Don Pinson; this has been Think About It.