What is good government?

What are the responsibilities of government in a balanced model? Remember that we need a balance between the family, the church and the government. Each group is integral to the whole and serves a distinct function while supporting the other groups.

The primary role of representational government is that of protecting the rights of the individual. There is a very basic code of laws which is a great place to start. It is found in Exodus 20: do not murder, do not lie, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not covet. These communicate the most valuable and intimate rights of the individual which, if honored, provide a basic level of respect and value for every person, their family relationships and their property. These are also built into every representational government system because individuals recognize their importance to society as a whole. Other related roles of government would be establishing a system of defense against foreign government policy and forceful invasion, a system of law with processes for trial and punishment (and rehabilitation) for law-breakers, levying taxes for the funding of government processes and public works, contracting the construction of public works as deemed necessary by the people, the protection of community resources, parks, monuments and historical centers, and education for the advancement and intellectual nourishment of the society. Most importantly, government should be self-limiting so that it only serves in its defined and contracted roles to protect the freedoms of the individuals and local communities which it represents.

There are really only 2 forms of government outlined in the Bible, both of which have some serious difficulties. Monarchy is a very common early form of government and pervasive through most of recorded history. If the king is truly concerned for the well-being of individuals under his rule and has adequate control of his realm, this works quite well in a fairly closed system. But as soon as a king loses focus on his responsibility to his subjects, or loses control of certain groups, or has evil (or lazy) counselors, everything is soon lost. The other form in early Hebrew culture was the theocracy. When God is the ruler, everything really does go well. The difficulty here is that God always communicates through people, some of whom have their own ideas of how things should work and misrepresent God or completely neglect their relationship with Him. After 300 years of moral, social and political failure in the period of the Hebrew judges, the people decided they needed a king like everyone else.

So the Bible does not really promote any form of government because the 2 models it gives do not work out very well. One beauty of Christianity is that it works under any form of government and even thrives under a religiously oppressive and intolerant government. The reason is that it is a relationship between the individual and his/her Creator and affirms the incalculable value of each human life, even in the face of torture and death. Christianity is most definitely NOT a form of government; it is not a social agenda; it is not a program for reform. Christianity is a way of life which impacts the heart and mind of each individual independent of the social climate. A Christian is an individual acting on the reality that God reveals Himself as Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer through His Word (the Bible), through His Son (Jesus), through His creation (the universe) and through His interaction with humanity (history) and who has accepted the death of Jesus as payment for his sin to reestablish the broken relationship. The pride of thinking "I know best" and the resulting disobedience of God's law is what separated/separates us from God in the first place. The Bible does promise a new form of government when time as we know it is no more. This heavenly government will center on the worship of the One who loves us perfectly because He is the source of all love and goodness.