Is Government the Answer?

I recently had the privilege of opening an event that celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.. While listening to the speaker, he mentioned that there have been several governing articles that regulate equality. So I did a little digging in a book I recently got in Philadelphia titled "The US Constitution and other Key American Writings" I've included some excerpts below.

In 1776 the Declaration of Independence stated "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with one another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted...,deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive... it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it..."

Is it that we need something greater or even perhaps Someone greater which connect us with one another?

Sixty years later "Andrew Jackson used his first annual message to Congress to discuss the "successes" of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which called for the removal of Native Americans located in the southeastern states. The act relocated tribes to areas west of the Mississippi River, thereby opening up the land for immigrant settlement. This was not the first attempt to take control of Native American land - the US Government had been doing this through negotiating treaties, fighting wars and forcing Native Americans to move since the country was founded. This was the first time that government officially called for the complete removal and relocation."

Was it the right of the Indians to abolish the form of government that had become destructive to their pursuit of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness? Was there no majority that stood upon the founding documents to say, "This is against the founding documents"? I imagine it was then, as it is now. If it doesn't affect our day to day, we ignore it, but what happens when we go without accountability in one area, it grows into other areas that will eventually affect you, especially if you hold to the truth of the Bible. Philippians 2:4 tells us "Do not only look out for our own interest, but also the interest of others." In other words, when deciding things, try your best to make sure decisions are mutually beneficial. The path of righteousness and justice are seldom convenient unless you create a culture where it is encouraged.

Abraham Lincoln later delivered a speech "A House Divided" in 1858. "Lincoln, who was then a candidate for the US Senate delivered this speech at the Republican National Convention. Lincoln stated that the US could not last much longer divided among free and slave states, nor could the issue be solved by allowing states to choose a side, which was the most popular political approach at the time. Lincoln's position was that the US must decide to be a slave country or a free country. Lincoln lost that that Senate seat to Stephen Douglas, a Democrat that supported the former position of state segregation. Just 2 years later, Lincoln won the Republican nomination for President, setting in motion the end of slavery as the US had known it."

You may be asking yourself, "What's an aspiring farmer or land steward blogging on about this for"? I'm so glad you asked :-)

It's curious to me how us humans can get things so twisted... so fast. On one hand, our founding documents state that each man has the same equal rights given to us by our Creator. Those of Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness. On the other hand, just sixty years later, we see the government endorse, fund, and execute the exodus of an entire race of emigrants within our borders. Why? Jackson says in his Indian Removal Act in 1830, "It will relieve the whole state of Mississippi and western part of Alabama of Indian occupancy and enable those states to advance rapidly in population, wealth, and power." What happened to the rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness? Jackson says "It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the states; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community".

Pause for a moment and release the explicit thoughts, possibly beat the feathers out of a pillow, etc.....

In what world would anyone who has been abused by a person, party, or government ever seek, accept, or identify the "protection" from that same party. That world only exists when it preserves the victims own heartbeat, or preserves the heartbeat of their children. And this is the model by which the government is going to "Christianize" a people. God help them!!! We can see that it became about population, wealth, and power. Is this any different from what we see within our food system? Is this any different than what we see in most "governed" aspects? Do we see government looking to protecting the pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness, or have we collectively traded those things for Populating, Wealth, and Power?

The government exists under the guise of being "for the people, by the people..." as stated by Abraham Lincoln during his Gettysburg Address, but if we look at it from an objective view, we see that a government is just an amplified expression of the hearts by which it is made up. They or we can write or say whatever they or we want to, it may be pleasing to their ears and ours, but the fruit that is beared reveals the heart.

Our posture is quick to change when we want something. We see this in a newborn babe and we don't lose it until we move on from this world. In that lies an inherent responsibility for self governance. God identifying our inability to self govern, sent Christ Jesus to set the example for us to follow. Christ then left His very own Spirit when He ascended into Heaven to equip us in our self governing. We must realize that we cannot govern ourselves in such a way that benefits ourselves, nor one another without believing in Him and practicing His ways. Without submission to the ways of God revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, the Divine guidance by the Holy Spirit, and those attributes being practiced by the true disciples to hold each other accountable, we will sadly be given over to our own self seeking desires.

"Self seeking desires" was the state of our nation when Jackson so eloquently and deceptive put it. "It will separate the Indians ...; free them from the power of the states; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps... gradually, under the protection of the Government ... cast off their savage habits and become... civilized and Christian community".

"It will relieve the whole...(country)...of Indian occupancy and enable those states to advance rapidly in population, wealth, and power."

Righteous governance is made available only by our Creator. We can identify this in every other aspect of the creation. It is then our responsibility to God, ourselves, fellow man, and to the Earth by which we are physically sustained, to choose this day and every day His way over our own. The way that our Creator made all equal, is ONLY found at the foot of the Cross. It is there where we must choose to meet. As Martin Luther King Jr put it,

"If we don't learn to live as brothers and sisters, we will perish as fools"

To answer my own question, "Is Government the Answer"? Yes but it is self governance that chooses to align itself with the Creator's guidelines. His ways lead to justice, righteousness, and is beneficial for all who are impacted by it.

Governance begins with;

Me aligning myself with God,

Accepting the role as a steward within my household,

Participating in Community, County, State, and Nation.

It's in that order, by design.

We cannot continue to look for answers to the issues that we face within our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities to come from a government that has been self seeking from the beginning.

If you find these perspectives to be true, just, and righteous...

And you'd like to visit a church that practices meeting at the Cross and going on from there in a posture that is concerned with aligning itself with God and being mutually beneficial to all of His creation, please consider joining us

Full Proof Ministries

199 Jackson St.

Tryon, NC 28782

Sundays

Discipleship begins at 10:00

Worship and Preaching at 11:00

Mens Gathering Saturdays at Open Road Coffee House

6:30 am - 8:30 am

915 W. Mills St.

Columbus, NC 28722

Farm News

We hatched new Freedom Rangers (Heritage) meat birds a few weeks ago

Arriving next week are 25 Broilers and 15 more egg layers which will bring our egg producing flock up to 30 chicks dedicated to laying eggs from our pastures to your homes.

We continue our commitment to having our poultry on pasture as soon as they are able (fully feathered) and feeding Organic, Soy free feed to offer the most nutrient dense products available. Stay Tuned for more updates...

Thank you, your local aspiring steward of relationships and resources,

Gordon