Most Bible-believing Christians believe that the government (particularly the federal government) has gotten way too big. They’re right. The civil government in the U.S. is too big, and it seems to be getting bigger. Of course, there are certain examples that we could look at concerning some aspects of government shrinking. But those examples are few and far between, and the overall trend over the years is that the government gets bigger. Unfortunately, there is no sign of it shrinking much anytime soon. Yes, I know our current president has done some things to cut the size of government, but he has also grown some aspects of the government as well (not just the military).
What then is the cause of our out-of-control government? Many causes could be cited, like God’s sovereign plan, a sinful population, an uninformed electorate, etc. All of these are causes of our problem, but for now I’d like to focus on the realm of politics.
First, it must be noted that our two-party system is one major cause of government growth. One Constitutional expert, Dr. Edwin Viera, Jr., once said that there is really only one political party in Washington. That political party just has two faces: a Republican face and a Democratic one. He’s right. It has also been said that there is not a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties. There may be a nickel’s worth of difference, but not a dime’s.
If you were to measure the voting records of our Senators and Representatives against the Constitution, the average Democrat violates the Constitution about 75% of the time. The average Republican violates the Constitution about 40% of the time. So, the Republicans are doing slightly better than the Democrats, but they still violate the Constitution nearly half the time! But the voting record only tells half of the story.
Politicians are not dumb (contrary to popular belief). They know that some people are watching how they vote. But that’s okay, there are other ways for Republicans to advance the Democrats’ agenda (remember: there’s only one party in Washington). Politicians have ways of getting around voting. One very popular way is to use the Supreme Court to make rulings that have the effect of creating laws that no politician wants to be on record voting for. This is how abortion & homosexual marriage became “law.” Of course, Supreme Court rulings are not really law, but everyone seems to go along with it, so why stop now?
Something you should always remember is that it was Republican-appointed Justices that gave us Roe vs. Wade. That’s right, it was Republicans who made abortion “legal.” But it doesn’t stop there. Three hundred Republicans sent a letter (an amicus brief) to the Supreme Court asking them to rule in favor of homosexual marriage! If you don’t believe me, look it up.
So, again, they are basically the same. They act like they hate each other, but behind closed doors, they are in basic agreement. The Democrats all voted to go into Iraq (and to stay there) and then acted like they were opposed to the war. Republicans acted outraged with Barack Obama’s immigration policies, but they voted to give him the ability to enforce those policies. They acted outraged with Obama’s TSA frisking airline passengers, but he was only doing what the Republican sponsored legislation allowed him to do. Democrats say they’re against a wall/fence on the Mexican border. What you may not know is that Obama and Hillary Clinton both voted for the border fence. Democrats are opposed to it now, but that’s only because they don’t want President Trump getting credit for it. Most of the time, they say one thing to their supporters, and then do the opposite in real life.
I used to wonder how some of my brothers & sisters in Christ could vote for Democrats who seemed to despise everything that those Christians stood for. Then I realized that I too had been duped. I was voting for Republicans who said one thing and then did another. Sure, they would throw me a bone now and then to keep me voting for them. But even when they were in power, nothing significant happened. The downward trend continued. It’s time we all woke up.
By now you may think that I have a defeatist attitude toward politics, or that I’m just out to point fingers. Not at all. I still vote, and I still believe we Christians should be involved in the political arena. I just believe that we should be dedicated to our Lord, and not to a corrupt political party (remember, there’s only one party).
Good, godly politicians are rare, but they do exist. When you find one, support them. Maybe they’ll have a “D” or an “R” after their name, or maybe they’ll be from a third party. You are accountable to God for how you vote. Don’t vote for a bad candidate just because they are a Republican or Democrat. When voters vote for bad candidates, the only winner is big government. Why does government keep getting bigger? One reason is because we ask (vote) for it.
In part II of this article, we will look at the two main political philosophies in America, commonly called liberalism & conservatism. While one is better than the other, neither is biblical, and both have a tendency to grow government.