{"id":640,"date":"2008-11-03T18:18:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-04T01:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/no-government-will-save-us\/"},"modified":"2008-11-03T18:18:00","modified_gmt":"2008-11-04T01:18:00","slug":"no-government-will-save-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/no-government-will-save-us\/","title":{"rendered":"No government will save us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cVote 2008\u201d is finally drawing to a close. (Insert loud sigh here)<\/em>\n

The passion surrounding this election is breathtaking. Many people are pinning some huge hopes on \u201ctheir\u201d candidate. Fervently, they believe if the results go their way, that all of their troubles<\/em> will be solved.<\/p>\n

One woman was shown <\/a>in a television interview praying the <\/a>election would go a certain way because she is hoping that someone else<\/em> would pay her mortgage and fuel for her car. Her rescue \u2013 her faith \u2013 was in government.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, we\u2019re not a fan of an elected official fixing anyone\u2019s life issues. In fact, we see big government<\/em> as a direct result of a little church<\/em>. You see, for centuries it was the church cared for the poor, the needy and the disenfranchised of this world, following the Christ\u2019s admonition to help \u201cthe least of these.\u201d
<\/em>
But something happened along the way. The government stepped in and offered to take on that role. They promised they could do it better. And the church responded by washing our hands<\/em> of the undesirables. Our tithe money was diverted to taxes and behold \u2013 we have created the monster. We quit caring.<\/p>\n

Now, our churches focus on staff and buildings, programs and \u201cministries\u201d \u2013 after all, why worry about the poor? They\u2019ve got someone else to care for them.<\/p>\n

Red Letter Believers<\/em>, those who actually live out the teachings of Christ, don\u2019t see government as the solution. Some have actually twisted Christ\u2019s teachings on the poor to promulgate big increases in social spending. It comes down to a body of believers, living in community, effecting change in the world.<\/p>\n

Jesus never called on the Roman government <\/em>to feed the poor. His call was for those who will drink of the \u201cwater that will turn to a spring welling up to eternal life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the city on a hill we ache for.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s our rock. That\u2019s our salvation. That\u2019s our hope.<\/p>\n

Like what you are reading? Won\u2019t you consider having future Red Letter Believer posts sent to you automatically? No spam \u2013 no fuss \u2013 no hassle. We promise. <\/span><\/em>Click here<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\nThis blog post is prompted by the Group Writing <\/span><\/em>Project<\/span><\/em><\/a> from Robert Hruzek of <\/span><\/em>Middle Zone Musings.<\/em> <\/span><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cVote 2008\u201d is finally drawing to a close. (Insert loud sigh here) The passion surrounding this election is breathtaking. Many people are pinning some huge hopes on \u201ctheir\u201d candidate. Fervently, they believe if the results go their way, that all of their troubles will be solved. One woman was shown in a television interview praying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[361,648,701,702],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","category-poor","category-red-letter-christians","category-red-letter-meaning"],"yoast_head":"\nNo government will save us<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Vote 2008" is finally drawing to a close. (Insert loud sigh here)The passion surrounding this election is breathtaking. 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