We have all been there. We’re playing a game with family or friends, and someone decides, for laughs or to irritate the others, not to abide by the rules. If you are serious about the game, it can be aggravating or downright maddening. You might recall a time when a fight broke out over it!
Have we not all witnessed professional athletes brawling over a perceived breech of the rules?
On a larger scale, Scriptures note that general agreement is fundamental to people getting along:
“Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).
People of differing viewpoints often find it difficult to get along, and best friends tend to agree on fundamentals.
There is a reason for having referees and umpires even with children’s games; however, as the participants get older, and the consequences of winning or losing become more significant, the need for following the rules and having impartial arbitration becomes even greater.
If we cannot play something as simple and as unimportant as a ball game without rules, how will we ever have a peaceful society without “rules?” or cultural norms that everyone agrees on?
It is imperative that there be a consensus regarding what the “rules” or norms of society are and the majority of the people must be willing to abide by them.
It could be that the greatest issue facing America today is the need to come to an agreement regarding the conventions by which we live. One might say that the Constitution is the rule book of the Country; but I would suggest that there is a rule book more fundamental than our Constitution, which has been the basis not only for the Constitution, but for culture and society in general.
That book is the Bible.
But in saying that I must be clear: The Founders did not see the Bible as a book of laws for specific public conduct as a theocracy would. Rather they perceived it as the source for unifying principles upon which the nation and its laws were to rest. The fact that they established no state church and that there were no religious tests for holding office or voting settles that issue!
Take the Ten Commandments, for example. The first four are Judeo/Christian specific and undergird the last six. However, those six could apply to all people of any religious persuasion and provide a solid, cohesive philosophy for a well-functioning society. And I am aware of no laws that criminalize taking God’s name in vain or for creating images of God.
We are not now nor have we ever been a theocracy.
The Ten Commandments do demand respect for one’s elders, which has ramifications far beyond the home. If we refuse to respect those who should naturally elicit our esteem and who have provided us with life, nourishment, and nurturing, how will we ever respect those who have contributed little or nothing to our lives? The general disregard for others manifested by so many Americans is a primary source of the conflict raging in the country.
The robbing of America’s youth of respect for their parents is one of the greatest evils perpetrated by the Left over the last seventy years.
One would think that the prohibition against murder, also found in the Decalogue, would be accepted universally and without debate. But if you desire an argument, just suggest that a universal right to life is a good thing! This is one right all demand for themselves but are often willing to withhold from others, especially those who burden them, such as the preborn, elderly and handicapped.
Another commandment largely ignored by Americans is the Ninth:
“Thou shalt not bear false witness…”
Until well into the 20th Century one of the “rules” by which most Americans lived was to speak the truth. There was no scoundrel lower than a liar! No label elicited a stronger reaction than to be called a liar! Now, most Americans lie so regularly that they hardly consider it a failure.
Recall that a friend of President Clinton said of him that he was “a very good liar, and I mean that as a compliment!” The fact is that such a cavalier attitude toward lying is a catastrophic moral failure! It is ironic that we all hate when we are lied to, but far too many of us have no qualms about lying to others!
I suppose everyone hates those who cheat in a game, (except for the cheaters!) Yet, cheating is a form of lying; and if games collapse with cheating, how much more will our society fail when deception is rampant! It is impossible to build good relationships or communities without integrity and trust, and their absence is certainly a major source of the divisions the nation is dealing with.
People believe they cannot trust their political leaders, the merchants they patronize, law enforcement, and even their own family! It is not that everyone lies, but so many do that it is difficult to know who can be trusted!
When lying is tolerated, one becomes cynical of everyone.
We could speak of the many other Christian virtues such as “love thy neighbor,” or “love bears all things,” which lead to the principle of giving others the benefit of the doubt. It is enshrined in our Constitution as “innocent until proven guilty.”
Consider the related ideal stated in the “Golden Rule” that we should be preemptive in kindness, doing to others whatever we would like them to do to us. The list goes on and on. Regarding authority, it is of great significance that Christianity views the authority for governance as arising from the governed, a bottom-up structure, while most other societies are governed top-down.
Christianity calls for personal integrity and character of the sort where citizens are controlled by their own self-discipline and thus need little external restraint. In its greatest fulfillment, people enter a personal relationship with the Creator God in Christ, rejecting sin and embracing righteousness, and are governed by God’s Holy Spirit.
The liberties we have come to enjoy as Americans are dependent on our being able to trust one another and on having a consensus of the fundamental “rules” of society. Of course, there has never been a time when you could trust everyone, or when everyone conformed to the norms of American society. But we are not the first country to deal with this problem.
Every society in history has had its rebels, nonconformists, misfits and discontents. How other societies have dealt with these people has varied throughout the centuries, but none have survived long when those who refused to conform to the culture’s norms became too large a contingent.
Right now, America is facing a significant crisis: culture wide collapse of character and disagreement over the foundational building blocks of our society. These schisms are so consequential that the cohesion necessary for a peaceful society is in danger of evaporating.
What are the areas of disagreement? To start with, we don’t agree regarding the role the God of the Bible plays in our culture; and directly related to that is the conflict over whether we need “rules” at all. Those who espouse godlessness are not insignificant players.
The Democrat Party, the largest political party in the nation, has officially removed any real reference to God in their Platform, and their policies manifest their tacet atheism.
As difficult as it is to imagine, the Left declares that we need no rules, or rather, that there are no rules applicable to all, and that the only society acceptable to them is one where every citizen is free to do whatever he or she wants to do.
In other words, anarchy!
Anarchy is, of course, such an absurd notion one would think the Left would gather no following at all; yet I suppose that because foolishness is a hallmark of the human race, it is not surprising that many delight in such nonsense. After all, the Scriptures note that “foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child…” and many Americans apparently never grow up.
Not all who disagree with America’s “rules” are anarchists, of course. Many just believe in different “rule” books. Is this a problem? Just ask a football player or golfer about the sensibility of playing their sport against someone who has a different set of rules. How would that work out? We all know the answer!
You could never have a real football game where each team follows its own rules. Or imagine a scenario where one team plays by American football rules while the other plays by Rugby rules. It would be chaotic and frustrating! In the same way, America can only survive when the majority accept a common set of “rules” or norms, period!
Thus, we cannot long endure with a significant number of citizens living by other sets of “rules,” such as those of communism or Islam. Such a statement is not in itself an indictment of either. It is simply an acknowledgement that those two world views are inherently contradictory to the principles upon which America has operated for two hundred and fifty years.
To allow either to gain a significant foothold in our culture would be like pumping water into your car’s gas tank. Someone may someday figure a way to make a car run on water, but the automobiles we drive today cannot do so.
An example of why this is true can be drawn from my earlier statements.
A stable, safe American economy and culture are predicated upon a high regard for truth. However, both communism and Islam tolerate lying as an acceptable means for advancing their cause. Thus, when proponents of these philosophies declare that they merely desire to participate in American society, they rarely state that they also intend to convert the nation to their particular philosophy, though such is the desire of many of them.
Also, both communism and Islam are monarchial systems by different names. Christianity naturally promotes a level playing field where all citizens are equal. In America, elected officials are public servants. Under communism and Islam, citizens are subject to the state.
Any “No Kings” protestor who espouses either communism or Islam is either dangerously naïve or wickedly deceitful. You may favor one of them but understand this: both are fatal to individual liberties.
Am I saying that Christians or those who profess to be Christians never lie? If only that were the case! If all Christians lived by their profession the nation would be in a far better condition. However, because so many who know better, and who claim to speak the truth also bear false witness at times, it has made it more difficult to proclaim the virtues of Christianity.
I would suggest that the fact that some Christians do not exhibit the character of Christ is a failure on their part, not of Christ or Christianity.
I do not know of any way to ensure that all who seek citizenship or leadership in America love its founding principles and culture and manifest integrity, but this must be prioritized. Christianity fosters such by demanding individual integrity and encouraging everyone to give each other the benefit of the doubt.
Therefore, encouraging the common acceptance of Christian principles is the best assurance of a peaceful, harmonious society.
If we cannot play something as simple as a baseball game without agreed-on rules, society itself cannot flourish or even survive without commonly accepted “rules.” The principles by which American society has functioned for two hundred and fifty years are rooted in the precepts of Christianity and the Bible.
If the nation is to survive and not devolve into anarchy and totalitarianism, we must come together again around those same principles.
One need not be a Christian to live and thrive in America, but if the “rules,” rooted in Christianity, and which have united us, are discarded, only tyrants will thrive.
