The Hidden Danger of Big Government
A commentary by Don Hooser
United Church of God Pastor, Sedro-Woolley, WA
The cover story of the April 21, 2008, issue of U.S. News & World
Report was "The Return of Big Government."
It's prediction: "More taxes. More regulation. More
spending"—regardless of who is elected as America's
next president.
The U.S. Federal Register—which records new and existing
federal regulations—contains over 75,000 pages! Compare this
to the Christian Bible. It contains virtually all the laws that
governed ancient Israel. Yet, by comparison, it is a tiny book!
Why do governments become inflated with regulations?
For one thing, governments seem to expand as the moral character
of their people declines. When the character of a people declines,
so does the character of elected leaders. True statesmen are gradually
outnumbered by career politicians focused mostly on public prestige.
Also, when increased percentages of ordinary people are not willing
to voluntarily live by the laws of the land, more laws are made
to plug legal loopholes and control criminal activity. Each new
law requires additional funding for its enforcement. Such measures
deal with the effects instead of the underlying causes of citizen
irresponsibility.
In the eighteenth century Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor,
wrote: "A democracy is always temporary in nature ... A democracy
will continue to exist until the time that voters discover they
can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From
that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who
promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result
that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy,
which is always followed by a dictatorship."
He went on to say that nations generally progress in the following
manner: "From bondage to spiritual faith. From spiritual faith
to great courage. From courage to liberty. From liberty to abundance.
From abundance to complacency. From complacency to apathy. From
apathy to dependence. From dependence back into bondage."
The three primary causes, according to historians, for the fall
of the mighty Roman Empire were its decline in morality, its weakened
economy and its unmanageable influx of foreigners who simply crossed
its borders without permission. Much can be learned from the decline
and disintegration of that empire.
One of America's great strengths has been that its government
is a republic, not a pure democracy. A republic is governed first
and foremost by its constitution. The U.S. constitution was crafted
to reflect, in large part, many biblical principles that were acceptable
to a majority of Americans at that time. But many of its political
leaders now seem to be pushing the U.S. toward a pure democracy
with no biblical roots.
The history of pure democracies is that they destroy themselves.
Each citizen is tempted to vote for candidates or legislation that
would seem to help him in the short run rather than for what is
best for the country in the long run. Short term political goals
lead to more taxes, more regulation, less liberty and a weaker economy.
Printing money then becomes the alternative to raising taxes, resulting
in more inflation and a devaluation of the nation's currency.
Today, the U.S. is bleeding to death financially. Costs from acting
as the world's policeman have become astronomical. Welfare
programs cost even more. And the nation's economy is propped
up by loans and investments from other countries.
As a result, respect for and confidence in America is plummeting.
Its economic leadership also is declining. This could lead to financial
and military vulnerability simply because "The borrower is
servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7).
President Ronald Reagan, at a prayer breakfast in 1984, said: "And
without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever
forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation
gone under."
Deuteronomy 28 lists blessings that God is willing to bestow on
a people when they obey His laws. But it also lists disasters that
will befall them if they persistently disobey those laws. Notice
this financial warning for such disobedience: "The alien who
is among you ... shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him;
he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail" (Deuteronomy
28:43-44).
 To learn what the Bible reveals about America's
future and why you and those you love need to be concerned, simply
request, download or read online our informative and free booklet, The
United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.
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