God, Not Government!

Last week, my post began to talk about the ever increasing role of government at all levels in our lives. With the cost of Katrina and the upcoming disaster named Rita, government spending will be at an all-time high. Unfortunately, politicians on both sides are quick to pull out the checkbook to gain support or to perform damage control. Politicians love to increase the role of government because it buys them job security. The government has successfully convinced many of us that the money that they have belongs to them not the taxpayer.

Yet, the talents that we use to earn a living, in my humble opinion belongs to God, not Raleigh or Washington. Once government gets into our lives, many people become dependent on them instead of living for God. What is the need to perform charitable works as Jesus instructs us if the government is supposed to pay for anything. There is no need to believe or trust in a higher power when you know that the government will provide all of your needs. Look at all of the selfish behavior that we witness on a regular basis. During Hurricane Katrina, no one in these people families' bothered to come and get their relatives out of New Orleans. Like I said in my previous posts, don't tell me that someone could not get their family out of there. But why bother to get grandma or cousin Niecy when the government is supposed to do it. Look at the conditions of the neighborhoods which the poor came from in New Orleans! The Great Society did more damage to blacks than any Klansmen ever could. The lack of nuclear families, high crime rates, and miserable schools are the result of the total dependence on government, yet the solution proposed for these people is more government!

Too much government separates us from each other as humans, and it fools us in believing that there is no need for God in our lives since the government will take care of us. If you did a study on which organizations had the most positive effect on poor people, I am certain that private charitable groups have a much better track record than state or federal programs. Don't get me wrong, government has to play a role in defense, commerce, justice. However, programs that force people out of the marketplace and into dependency are plain wrong. Jesus reminds us that no man can serve two masters, he will love one and hate the other. Too many of us are serving the master of government which causes us to separate from God. The ever increasing cost of government will soon get to a breaking point, will we go fiscally and morally bankrupt or will we begin to take responsibility for our lives and trust God?