Many Christians on Facebook, TV, and in various churches will say that the reason for the decline of this country (i.e., These United States) is that God is punishing the nation. They point to abortions and homosexuality among other issues. They argue that we have become a lawless society, turning our back on God, and are now suffering for doing so. But is this really the case? Is this really a valid argument? I urge others to read 1 Samuel 8:10-18:

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

Here is the question. If God is truly punishing the United States for its sins, then why does God seem to disapprove of the State so strongly? The passage above suggests that God hates State established borders (although not individual borders established by the property owner, who inherited or bought the land on which they live on). If the State can draw the borders, it makes the idea of owning property illegitimate, for the State now holds a monopoly on not only the land but also the very people within its confines. Within these confines, the State needs a symbol and a force to back that symbol (leader), especially the kind that involves a military force supported by taxing its very citizens to protect and suppress.

Therefore, if one’s argument is that God is punishing this nation, or any nation for that matter, one must be in error. God could care less about nationalized borders when he was against it from the very get go. It’s not God that is punishing us, but rather the individual who places his or her faith into the government to solve all our problems, whether religious or secular. I would think if the Christians and Jews were against all these sinful acts that many protest the government to do something about, they would protest violence as being the greatest sin of all.

Unfortunately, many think that people who live very different lifestyles from their own places believers in danger. This makes very little sense. If you are a good Christian, Jew, or whatever, what is your worry? It is unfortunate that many believers in God have looked to the State to be their deliverer on all goods and services, rather than looking to the God who made them from the beginning.

Reprinted from LibertarianChristians.com with the author’s permission.

Cam Rea [send him mail] is a frequent reader of LibertarianChristians.com and member of the Christian Libertarian Facebook Group.