{"id":1067,"date":"2012-04-23T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-23T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithfuldemocrats\/2012\/04\/budgetary-myths-that-christians-should-reject-part-1\/"},"modified":"2013-05-09T06:06:46","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T12:06:46","slug":"budgetary-myths-that-christians-should-reject-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithfuldemocrats\/2012\/04\/budgetary-myths-that-christians-should-reject-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Budgetary myths that Christians should reject, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Myth #1: \u201cAsking the government to care for the poor and weak means we are failing to depend on God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Not true. Most of God\u2019s care for us takes place through the created order He has established, not despite it. \u201cIn Him we live and move and have our being\u201d (Acts 17:28<\/a>), but our continued existence is usually a result of the forces and laws of nature that God designed to carry out His will\u2013not because of repeated interruptions of those laws. God does, indeed, provide our daily bread, but not as unexplained manna from heaven; rather, it occurs as an effect of the natural processes by which sunlight and water are converted to food. The act of planting and watering crops is not an intrinsic statement that farmers are depending on themselves rather than God for their food; in fact, I\u2019m pretty sure that there are few things quite as effective as farming at pointing out just how dependent we humans are on the Almighty\u2019s care.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Does making use of the providentially predictable natural processes God set in motion at creation mean we aren\u2019t conscious of God\u2019s care? Well, maybe. After all, we are fallen and finite beings who couldn\u2019t fit an adequate thought about God into our minds even before sin\u2019s corruption broke them completely, and we humans have a well-documented bad habit of confusing creation with its Creator. But that doesn\u2019t mean that it doesn\u2019t \u201ccount\u201d as Divine provision. In fact, only an ungrateful fool would reject all farm-grown food as not from God and stand around waiting for manna to fall out of a vacant sky. God does provide for us. But he almost certainly works through natural forces more often than he works against them. \u201cThis is my Father\u2019s world; he shines in all that\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

How does this relate to government? Let\u2019s turn to the end of Romans 12 (verses 17-19<\/a>):<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God\u2019s wrath, for it is written: \u201cIt is mine to avenge; I will repay,\u201d says the Lord.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The passage is unequivocal: It is God\u2019s job, not ours, to take revenge; we are to leave room for His wrath. Now turn the page to Romans 13 (verses 1 and 4<\/a>):<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God\u2026.They are God\u2019s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t we just read that God would handle revenge? Then what\u2019s government doing in the picture\u2026except for the fact that God delegated this authority to part of his created order\u2013in this case, human government.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no necessary contradiction between trusting in God while relying on his creation\u2013not at the dinner table, and not in politics.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this mean that social services are best handled by the government?\u00a0 That\u2019s a prudential question rather than a moral one, and one deserving of its own post.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Myth #1: \u201cAsking the government to care for the poor and weak means we are failing to depend on God.\u201d Not true. Most of God\u2019s care for us takes place through the created order He has established, not despite it. \u201cIn Him we live and move and have our being\u201d (Acts 17:28), but our continued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[75,77,76,78],"class_list":["post-1067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c17-featured-writers","tag-budget","tag-common-grace","tag-creation","tag-role-of-government"],"yoast_head":"\nBudgetary myths that Christians should reject, Part 1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Myth #1: "Asking the government to care for the poor and weak means we are failing to depend on God." Not true. 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