5 Biblical Guidelines For Good Government
God created several institutions to foster human flourishing. These include marriage and family, the church, and civil government. When Jesus said to "give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's (Mk 12:17)," He was affirming the legitimacy of civil government. In other words, as Christians we should not view government as evil, or as a necessary evil, but as a common grace created by God for our benefit. This is why the Bible commands us to submit to, pray for, and pay taxes to the government, even when civic leaders are unbelievers.
However this is no way means that every government does good, or that every act of government leads to human flourishing. Just as there are highly dysfunctional marriages, families, and churches, there are also highly dysfunctional governments. As well, just as the existence of dysfunctional marriages does not mean that the institution of marriage itself is bad, so also the existence of dysfunctional or evil governments does not mean that the institution of government itself is evil.
Just as God provided ample instructions for building healthy marriages, families, and churches, He has also provided instructions for building a healthy government. In America today, there are two different views of civil government. The progressives believe that the government should solve every problem and meet every need. Progressives mostly hang out in the Democratic Party. The conservatives, mostly hanging out in the Republican Party, believe that the government should do a very limited number of things, such as protect the rights to life, liberty, and property, and then leave citizens alone to solve their own problems and meet their own needs (self-government). In this post I want to look at what the Bible says about government. Then we can determine which view of the government, progressive or conservative, is most in line with the Bible.
The following are five Biblical guidelines for good government. This is not an exhaustive treatment of the Biblical teaching of civil government, but is a good starting place.
First, the government exists to protect life and private property. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 tells us to pray for government leaders so that we may live "a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." A good government enables its citizens to live a tranquil life, or a life free from disturbance. In other words, the government exists to protect us from enemies who would want to harm or steal from us, both foreign and domestic. This is the most essential and most basic purpose of government. If the government did only one thing, it would be this, and it would be a great benefit to society. This is the justification for an effective military and police force. As well, if the government exists to protect life and private property, then it must be limited to prevent itself from endangering the lives and property of its citizens.
Second, the government exists to protect liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The next word in 2 Timothy 2:1-2 is "quiet." (I realize that I am using the language of the founding fathers, but there's a good reason for that: They were heavily influenced by the Bible, and it is hard to improve upon the Declaration and Constitution.) The word "quiet" doesn't mean the absence of noise, but the absence of intrusion, interference, and outside control. It is the idea of being left alone. The first guideline was about the government protecting life and property from criminals. This second guideline is about the government limiting itself so that citizens have liberty and can pursue happiness. This means government must keep laws, regulations, and taxes to a bare minimum.
Third, the government exists to protect the free exercise of religion. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says that when the government is running on all cylinders we will be able to live with "all godliness and dignity." Godliness is righteous character motivated by religious devotion, and dignity means being worthy of respect. Mankind's most fundamental duty is devotion to God, and therefore the government must protect religious freedom. It must not force religious devotion, because true religion must be freely chosen; and it must not punish religious devotion unless someone is threatening another's life and property.
Fourth, the government exists to punish evil and encourage good. 1 Peter 2:13-14 says that the government exists "to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good." This means that the government must never do the opposite -- punish good behavior and encourage bad behavior. Otherwise evil in the land will increase and righteousness will decrease. The US government currently violates this guideline with the progressive income tax, which increases taxes as your income goes up, thereby punishing and discouraging hard work, productivity, and success. A more just tax would be a fair tax (aka sales or consumption tax), which would simply tax your purchases. The rich would still pay more, but this would encourage saving and investing.
Fifth, as God's servant, the government must avoid evil. If the government's job is to punish evil, then it must avoid doing evil itself. In Paul's writing about government in Romans 13:1-7 he says three different times that the government is God's servant. As such, it must not violate God's will. In practice this means that what is evil for an individual is also evil for the government. In other words, just as it is wrong for me to murder, it is wrong for the government to murder. And just as it is wrong for me to steal one neighbor's money in order to help another neighbor, it is wrong for the government to steal one citizen's money in order to give it to another. When the government helps one group of people, it can only do so by taking money from another group of people. Regardless of what the money is used for, and regardless of who doing the taking, it is still theft. It is legal plunder. Aid for the needy must be left in the hands of families, churches, and other private organizations so that it is voluntary and so that it does not encourage irresponsibility and immorality.
When these five guidelines are taken into consideration, it is clear that the government does not exist to solve every problem and meet every need. The only way that would be possible would be to severely limit liberty, eliminate private property, and drastically increase taxes. Instead, the Biblical concept of the government is that it should limit itself to the protection of life, liberty, and property, and then leave citizens to govern themselves through the other institutions that God has created -- family, the church, and other private organizations.
However this is no way means that every government does good, or that every act of government leads to human flourishing. Just as there are highly dysfunctional marriages, families, and churches, there are also highly dysfunctional governments. As well, just as the existence of dysfunctional marriages does not mean that the institution of marriage itself is bad, so also the existence of dysfunctional or evil governments does not mean that the institution of government itself is evil.
Just as God provided ample instructions for building healthy marriages, families, and churches, He has also provided instructions for building a healthy government. In America today, there are two different views of civil government. The progressives believe that the government should solve every problem and meet every need. Progressives mostly hang out in the Democratic Party. The conservatives, mostly hanging out in the Republican Party, believe that the government should do a very limited number of things, such as protect the rights to life, liberty, and property, and then leave citizens alone to solve their own problems and meet their own needs (self-government). In this post I want to look at what the Bible says about government. Then we can determine which view of the government, progressive or conservative, is most in line with the Bible.
The following are five Biblical guidelines for good government. This is not an exhaustive treatment of the Biblical teaching of civil government, but is a good starting place.
First, the government exists to protect life and private property. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 tells us to pray for government leaders so that we may live "a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." A good government enables its citizens to live a tranquil life, or a life free from disturbance. In other words, the government exists to protect us from enemies who would want to harm or steal from us, both foreign and domestic. This is the most essential and most basic purpose of government. If the government did only one thing, it would be this, and it would be a great benefit to society. This is the justification for an effective military and police force. As well, if the government exists to protect life and private property, then it must be limited to prevent itself from endangering the lives and property of its citizens.
Second, the government exists to protect liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The next word in 2 Timothy 2:1-2 is "quiet." (I realize that I am using the language of the founding fathers, but there's a good reason for that: They were heavily influenced by the Bible, and it is hard to improve upon the Declaration and Constitution.) The word "quiet" doesn't mean the absence of noise, but the absence of intrusion, interference, and outside control. It is the idea of being left alone. The first guideline was about the government protecting life and property from criminals. This second guideline is about the government limiting itself so that citizens have liberty and can pursue happiness. This means government must keep laws, regulations, and taxes to a bare minimum.
Third, the government exists to protect the free exercise of religion. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says that when the government is running on all cylinders we will be able to live with "all godliness and dignity." Godliness is righteous character motivated by religious devotion, and dignity means being worthy of respect. Mankind's most fundamental duty is devotion to God, and therefore the government must protect religious freedom. It must not force religious devotion, because true religion must be freely chosen; and it must not punish religious devotion unless someone is threatening another's life and property.
Fourth, the government exists to punish evil and encourage good. 1 Peter 2:13-14 says that the government exists "to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good." This means that the government must never do the opposite -- punish good behavior and encourage bad behavior. Otherwise evil in the land will increase and righteousness will decrease. The US government currently violates this guideline with the progressive income tax, which increases taxes as your income goes up, thereby punishing and discouraging hard work, productivity, and success. A more just tax would be a fair tax (aka sales or consumption tax), which would simply tax your purchases. The rich would still pay more, but this would encourage saving and investing.
Fifth, as God's servant, the government must avoid evil. If the government's job is to punish evil, then it must avoid doing evil itself. In Paul's writing about government in Romans 13:1-7 he says three different times that the government is God's servant. As such, it must not violate God's will. In practice this means that what is evil for an individual is also evil for the government. In other words, just as it is wrong for me to murder, it is wrong for the government to murder. And just as it is wrong for me to steal one neighbor's money in order to help another neighbor, it is wrong for the government to steal one citizen's money in order to give it to another. When the government helps one group of people, it can only do so by taking money from another group of people. Regardless of what the money is used for, and regardless of who doing the taking, it is still theft. It is legal plunder. Aid for the needy must be left in the hands of families, churches, and other private organizations so that it is voluntary and so that it does not encourage irresponsibility and immorality.
When these five guidelines are taken into consideration, it is clear that the government does not exist to solve every problem and meet every need. The only way that would be possible would be to severely limit liberty, eliminate private property, and drastically increase taxes. Instead, the Biblical concept of the government is that it should limit itself to the protection of life, liberty, and property, and then leave citizens to govern themselves through the other institutions that God has created -- family, the church, and other private organizations.
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