Posted on 03/10/2013 11:41:23 AM PDT by Kaslin
In his recent book, Fixing the Moral Deficit, Ron Sider argues that deficit spending by the federal government is one of the most important moral challenges that Americans have ever faced. I disagree with some of Sider’s proposed solutions, but he’s right. Every year, the federal government spends well over a trillion dollars more than it takes in. As a result, it has racked up seventeen trillion dollars in debt, most of it in the last decade. In seven years at current rates, the U.S. will need almost a fifth of the GDP from the rest of the world just to finance our national debt.
Just two of our federal entitlements, Medicare and Social Security, have “unfunded future liabilities” of $46.2 trillion. Total liabilities are $86.8 trillion or more. Entitlements and other mandatory spending will burden more and more of the federal budget in the coming years. At today’s burn rate, before long no realistic amount of tax revenue will be able to service the debt and fund the government’s basic functions.
We need not worry about the federal government defaulting, since, unlike U.S. states or private citizens, it can print the money it needs to pay the bills. It can and will do so if we don’t make a course correction fast. Massive monetary expansion will ultimately devalue every dollar in circulation and trigger the sort of hyperinflation that flattens entire societies in short order. That’s bad enough, but when government borrows and spends for our supposed benefit, somebody else will have to foot some or all of the bill. If our faith applies to every aspect of life, then it must have something to say about this moral outrage.
What the Bible Does, and Doesn’t, Say
There is no biblical Proverb that says, “A wise nation keeps its federal budget below twelve percent of GDP and never runs more than a 1% deficit, while a country that keeps voting for more and more entitlements is repugnant.” Nevertheless, the Bible does cast light on the perils of unlimited government, of which government growth and deficit spending are symptoms. To think clearly about government debt, we first need to think biblically about the limits of government.
Three Biblical Warnings
The first biblical lesson on government comes from Genesis, in the story of Joseph, who has the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. This gift allowed Egypt to plan ahead and store grain during seven bountiful years so that it could survive the seven years of famine to follow.
God gave Joseph the gift of interpretation, but it was Joseph who suggested to Pharaoh that he collect “a fifth of the produce of the land” during the seven fat years (Gen. 41:34). Over time, Joseph’s authority—given by Pharaoh—grew larger and larger over the Egyptians and the Jews, until the Jews spent all their money and all their grain and the Egyptians gave over all their livestock and finally offered themselves as slaves to Pharaoh.
When the story picks up again in the book of Exodus, we learn that a new Pharaoh has risen to power and enslaved the Israelites. Then the story fast-forwards four hundred years from the time of Joseph, when Israel has become a nation in bondage. We like Joseph, so we tend to miss the subtle lesson: consolidating power in a political authority can lead to tragic unintended consequences—even when initiated by a man like Joseph “in whom is the Spirit of God.”
Give Us a King!
In the book of Judges, another few hundred years have passed since the Jews’ slavery in Egypt. The twelve tribes are now settled in the Promised Land, and have been led, off and on, by judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel,” Judges concludes, “all the people did what was right in their own eyes.” In light of that conclusion, you might expect to turn to the next book and see a celebration of kings to rule over Israel. But it’s just the opposite! What Genesis leaves as an unstated lesson, 1 Samuel shouts from the mountaintops.
Near the end of his life, the elders of Israel asked the prophet Samuel to go appoint a king. The LORD told him to accept their request, but to warn them of the results.
The king . . . will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots. . . . He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day. (1Samuel 8:11-18)
God saw Israel’s demand as a rejection of his kingship. The US is not ancient Israel, of course, but this should still be a warning to us: a centralized political authority with overweening power is often a worldly substitute for God’s rule.
The Beast
Revelation, the last book of the Bible, contains a series of apocalyptic visions that have perplexed readers for two thousand years. In chapter thirteen, John describes a beast, which is given enormous power and authority by a dragon, that is, Satan. The beast’s authority extends over every tribe and people and language and nation. It wages war on believers, and is worshipped by “all the inhabitants of the earth,” except those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Most biblical scholars think the “beast” refers to Rome, perhaps under Nero, who viciously persecuted the Church. However you interpret Revelation and the End Times, it’s undeniable that the Bible ends with a horrific portrayal of a state dominating vast multitudes of people. In the twentieth century, more than a hundred million people were murdered by their own governments. And that was just in communist countries. History and scripture agree: because of sin, governments with too much power become propagators of evil and destruction.
This speaks directly to government debt, since deficit spending is a symptom of government doing more than it can or should. The federal government now borrows and spends with such reckless abandon that it is careening toward a global economic catastrophe. If Christians can’t muster the courage to speak out against what Rep. Paul Ryan has called “the most predictable debt crisis in history,” we won’t deserve to be taken seriously after the collapse.
“We like Joseph, so we tend to miss the subtle lesson: consolidating power in a political authority can lead to tragic unintended consequences—even when initiated by a man like Joseph ‘in whom is the Spirit of God.’”
Never thought about it that way. Thanks!
I’ve always found it best to stay under the radar and trust in Him. So far, so good. What can man do to me, really, while He is on his throne? Not much other than to take my life in the end, and then I get another, better one. Joke’s on them! :)
I agree that the End Times events will be directly related to governments and finance.
The Mark of the Beast is the epitome of this evil.
Since the largest drivers of our debt and deficits are Entitlements, what should the Christian response be to Entitlement spending?
National debt: Why entitlement spending must be reined in
Ping for later
“....what should the Christian response be to Entitlement spending?”
.
Christians have been found to be a bunch of liberals who cannot distinguish between socialism and misplaced “charity”.
There are two types of Christians in this regard, Christians that get a government check, and Christians that do not rely on a government check.
Government is a convenient way to justify dancing around Biblical Commandments like “stealing” as we are surely doing from hard-working people and future generations.
So in my opinion, you won’t get much traction.
Same goes for “Conservatives” - there are those who get a check from Uncle Sugar in some form, and there are others who do not.
Government today perverts both Conservatism and Christianity, which is by design, I suspect.
So I think You’re asking the wrong question.
They call themselves christians as a disguise.. a mask.. to shill for more givernment..
True of some roman catholics and protestants as well.. and most new agers..
True of some Jews, and some atheists, as well, in my experience.
In light of that conclusion, you might expect to turn to the next book and see a celebration of kings to rule over Israel. But it’s just the opposite! What Genesis leaves as an unstated lesson, 1 Samuel shouts from the mountaintops.
Near the end of his life, the elders of Israel asked the prophet Samuel to go appoint a king. The LORD told him to accept their request, but to warn them of the results.
The king . . . will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots. . . . He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day. (1Samuel 8:11-18) God saw Israel’s demand as a rejection of his kingship.
I hadn't thought about this is a long time. A less more temporal interpretation of this is that concentration of, and subsequent malfunction of, governmental power is a recurring feature throughout the affairs of man.
Excellent article; thanks, Kaslin. Ping!
Christian sociology is based on the proposition that both the individual and the social order are important to God, mankind, and society. Proper perspective requires neither emphasizing the influence of society too strongly, nor denying the importance of the individual. Christian sociologists believe that certain social institutions are ordained by God, such as family and home and marriage, church,work,education, and the state itself.
The state should not:
1) violate God given natural rights
2) interfere with:
2.1) God ordained institutions
2.2) the jurisdiction, responsibilities, development of the various realms of interests of God ordained institutions
Baptist ping
The Biblical account of Israel’s first and second kings is instructive.
I Samuel 8 gives the background: “When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders ... But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice ... So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’”
“But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
“Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’”
When people turn to government as their security and their strength, they reject the Almighty as their security and strength. And they pay very dearly for that error.
So then Samuel anoints Saul to be King of Israel by revelation. Presumably Saul was the best candidate available, but his reign ended in tragedy and defeat.
Saul was, of course, succeeded by David, the most celebrated of Israel’s kings and “a man after God’s own heart”. But the same David was the scoundrel who, lusting after Bathsheba, abused his office by murdering Uriah. His son and successor, Solomon, was reputedly the wisest of Israel’s kings. However, the people of Israel were burdened with the cost of the opulent lifestyle of Solomon and his 700 wives and 300 concubines. And that’s the pinnacle of the history of Israel’s kings.
Application: A central government is dirty business and oppressive to the people. Even the very best of its practitioners is apt to be sleazy. It is therefore best for the powers of central government to be severely limited.
You are absolutely right about how one’s opinions regarding the proper role of government is highly correlated with the direction of cash flows. I’ve noticed marked changes in the opinions of people I know as they transition from taxpayers in their late fifties to tax recipients in their mid-sixties.
WRT “Government is a convenient way to justify dancing around Biblical Commandments like “stealing””: I’d argue that government is even worse in that it also actively encourages and even celebrates the envy forbidden by the 10th Commandment.
Regarding federal growth an spending themes, I wish that Mr. Richards would have included the following in his article.
First, Justice John Marshall had officially clarified that Congress is prohibited from laying taxes in the name of state power issues, essentially any issue which Congress cannot justify under its Section 8-limited powers.
"Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States." --Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
As I've ranted in related threads, based on Justice Marshall's clarification of Congress's limited power to lay taxes, here is my rough estimate of the ceiling for the annual federal budget.
Given that the plurality of clauses in Section 8 are defense related, and given that the Department of Defense (DoD) budget for 2012 was $600+ billion, I will generously round the annual DoD budget up to $1 trillion, but probably much less, to estimate how much Section 8 should be costing taxpayers per year.
In other words, we shouldn't be seeing these multi-trillion dollar federal budget that the liberal media, including Obama guard dog Fx News, is reporting in federal public policy discussions without mentioning Justice Marshall's clarification of Congress's limited power to lay taxes.
Amen, sister....
I am not familiar with the author. It is his first article in Townhall.com
Thanks for the ping!
You’re very welcome, dear FRiend!
The Beast ..... is the ultimate narcissist. He has convinced himself he will be ‘god’, and has already been sentenced to death. The only named entity that has already been judged, the first rebel, would be ‘god’. Planted throughout the Bible we are given wisdom into recognizing him and his methodology of deception.
While the words Written down by John give the imagery of mass bloodshed, who in their right mind would worship such a entity, calling himself Jesus but carrying out mass slaughter? According to some of the holy prophets this ‘beast’ will come in peaceably and offering ‘debt relief’ IF we in the flesh will bend a knee and worship him.
Just like the temptation of Christ after He fasted in the wilderness. So the progressives and their like minded tax and spenders are readying the arrival of the ultimate sugar daddy to ‘save’ us, “IF” we pay tribute to him. The beast's mark is not going to be forced upon anyone. And yes, those that refuse, apparently a very few, will be delivered up in a religious sense to be converted.
But as Christ said when the action begins time has been shortened for the elect’s sake. Days, not years.
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