FOR MAN TO SEE
Determination of drift is made, not by comparisons between those who are drifting, or the boat in which one is riding, but with some fixed object on the shore.
The apostle Paul warns against the mistake of false comparisons: “but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12).
For the Christian there is a fixed object to which we can look and by which we can determine our own position, and that object is Christ.
In national life also comparisons need to be made. Have we as a people drifted from that course which under the hand of God’s blessing has made our nation great? There is every reason to think that we have drifted far.
Within the framework of our Constitution and those instruments of freedom and protection which together bring blessing to the greatest proportion of the citizens of any nation in history, there are found certain principles which had their origin in the Christian faith. It is to these principles that we speak.
The men who drew up the Constitution never envisioned its use as a protective device for those who would be its avowed enemies. Nor was it ever contemplated that the document should become a cloak under which the destruction of our government might be planned.
That the freedoms guaranteed to our citizens by the Constitution have become license for traitors is a matter of record.
But one particular menace demands our attention now. There is an alarming tendency on the part of some to surrender the sovereignty of our government to international agencies and in so doing to erode away not only the rights of American citizens but also to lose for our own land the prestige and power that can best be wielded by people who operate according to tried and true principles.
Arnold Toynbee, sensing the trend toward world government, with its recession from basic Christian ideals, says in his book, An Historian’s Approach to Religion: “We can, however, foresee that, when world government does come, the need for it will have become so desperate that Mankind will not only be ready to accept it even at the most exorbitantly high price in terms of loss of liberty, but will deify it and its human embodiments, as an excruciated Graeco-Roman World once deified Rome and Augustus. The virtual worship that has already been paid to Napoleon, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler and Mao indicates the degree of idolization that would be the reward of an American or Russian Caesar who did succeed in giving the World a stable peace at any price; and in this baleful light it looks as if the ecumenical welfare state may be the next idol that will be erected in a still discarded Christianity’s place” (p. 219).
These are the words of a sober observer, one of the world’s great historians.
Toynbee sees the drift of our times. He sees the desire for peace at any price. He recognizes that the welfare state is man’s attempt to produce a utopia by governmental power rather than by human character.
Furthermore Toynbee foresees the very thing predicted in Holy Scripture—the emergence on the world scene of a superman who will offer “world peace”—the peace of death.
With these trends for all to see what should be the Christian’s attitude? How can he stand forth against the things that are contributing to the downfall of the nation?
Strange as it may seem, there is a powerful element in the Church which has fostered and continues to support every step toward a welfare state. Envisioning for the Church the status of ultimate world domination (rather than that of a witness in the midst of unbelief), this segment of the Church caters to the concept of big government and the controls of big government.
At the heart of the matter is the philosophy of spending and yet more spending. The present devaluation of our own currency to a 47¢ dollar, the unending spiral of inflation, the astronomical national debt, and the continuing unbalanced budget of the nation are all part of a trend which, without any other factors, can destroy America.
Scattered throughout both the Senate and House of Representatives are men who repeatedly advocate the expenditure of funds which the government does not have and who with eyes wide open are willing to see the nation go further and further in debt. That they thereby buy the votes of selfish and misguided constituents is a poor excuse for hastening the day of national economic collapse.
Christians should oppose every candidate for office who shows himself either ignorant of the laws of economics or callous to the welfare of the nation. They can speak out and do so with great power and effect.
There was once a time when the basic principles of Christianity were clearly reflected in public life. That day is rapidly fading. Few indeed are the men who will take a stand for the right regardless of political, social, or economic consequences. In the last 25 years expediency has become increasingly the watch-word; righteousness has become relative.
Wherever possible, Christians ought to be offering themselves for public office, not on a basis of partisan politics but out of a motive for the good of the whole. In many cases this will mean personal sacrifice and a difficult life for those that are elected.
But unless something is done at this level the present trends cannot be stopped.
A new generation has emerged, a generation which values security more than freedom, ease more than hard work, pleasure more than application, entertainment more than enterprise. Worst of all we live in a time when millions think the government owes them a living—one of the most damning philosophies men ever had.
Without question, the government owes to all fairness and equality of opportunity. But that the government should be both umpire and play along with one of the teams is a different thing.
The cry that times have changed and our industrialized society needs big government to control big business is an unconvincing argument. That which is wrong for the individual or groups of individuals is also wrong for the government. The same laws of economics which hold for the man on Main Street are valid for the government in Washington. The greatest good of society is to be found where good principles are practiced by and for all concerned.
The ecumenical welfare state which Toynbee foresees is but part of a world government where God is gradually replaced by man, and the whole structure is foredoomed to destruction.
L. NELSON BELL
