H. Doyle Smith - The Nature of Good Government

H Doyle Smith

THE NATURE OF GOOD GOVERNMENT

Copyright 2020 H Doyle Smith

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ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-64345-918-9

ISBN (Ebook): 978-1-64345-919-6

Printed in the United States of America

Dedicated to my loving wife, Dolores

Contents

On the Nature of Good Government

T he United States is at a crisis. We do not define good government and allow those who have asked for the responsibility of governing to be drawn of in every direction, chasing red herrings like abortion, no taxes, free trade, or deregulation. These are theories. The role of government is about peoples lives, not abstract theories that do not apply.

Good government exists wherever people work together for the good of the community. It does not require that all people walk in lockstep with the leading of a few. When people allow themselves to let that happen, policies that deal with important aspects of life are left unattended. No one person or group of people has the knowledge to know what all the aspects of life of the community are, yet we find that people who have the ability to prohibit certain activities use their power to act as if this prohibition of what can be important is a God-given right of the unknowing.

Good government does not exist when any doctrine dominates the thinking of the community. When the appropriate doctrine is used in the specific circumstance of the situation, it is useful, but if applied across the board, it is destructive. Socialism may require that people use their resources to support those who have only a few resources and need support from the community. Capitalism provides the ability to meet unexpected opportunities or problems, and patron-peon relationships provide coordination when government has broken down. No one doctrine can provide good government in all its communitys needs.

Government is a partnership between each person, and all the people, represented by the government. Its value is destroyed when either party to the partnership fails to recognize and support the interests of the other. When government is used to favor any part of the economy at the expense of others, the government has failed in its responsibility to provide for the good of all. When individuals claim that they have the right to avoid taxes, or avoid responsibilities, they have failed in their responsibility as citizens.

The Form

The Bible addresses most of the concerns that government needs to consider, so this study will start by looking at the parts of the Bible that address this matter and apply them to the role that each person and combination of persons should play in a well-governed community.

The elements of an economy come next. These elements include resources, uses, and objectives. Resources include anything that can be used to enable someone to accomplish an objective and is not limited to money. Knowledge, relationships, locations, and things are all basic resources and they may be represented by money, but it is the use of these resources that enables them to accomplish what needs to be accomplished by the community. We value these resources by what we perceive as their ability to be useful.

Problems that arise from misunderstanding the elements that allow people to work together will follow. These include the mathematical scissors, by which resources that are needed by some are denied by unfairness in rules and taxes, monopoly (the cancer of the economy), dependency, when economies are destroyed by charity, and other unexpected complications caused by failure to understand the side effects of our not understanding what happens.

Last we can look at changes we could make to enable our civilization to be more enjoyable to all people. These changes involve reducing regulation where people know what is best in their individual situation, increasing regulation where regulation is beneficial, rewriting tax laws that destroy economic uses, and other possible considerations.

Remember that these are the insights of one individual. As more input is allowed, other peoples insights will affect the subject. This means that all the people need to make their responsible contribution to the good of the country. This subject involves far more that can be included here.

Biblical Religion and Government

C hristianity is a unique religion. Most religions use history to punish what has happened in the past. Christianity suggests that what is important is how we act now and in the future. This difference makes the Christian willing to forgive the past and get on with life.

But government has a different role. Civil society cannot exist if people cannot work together in safety. What is unsafe must be stopped before it causes problems that will destroy peoples ability to live together without fear. To understand the relationship between government and religion, we first must understand the roles of each. Paul has a discussion on the difference.

Everybody is to obey the governing authorities because there is no authority except from God. Whatever authorities exist have been appointed by God. Anybody who disobeys an authority is rebelling against Gods ordinance, and rebels must expect to receive the condemnation they deserve. Magistrates bring fear not to those who do good but to those who do evil. So if you want to live with no fear of authority, live honestly and you will have its approvalit is there to serve God for you and for your good. But if you do what is wrong, then you may well be afraid because it is not for nothing that the symbol of authority is the sword ; it is there to serve God, too, as his avenger, to bring retribution to wrongdoers . You must be obedient; therefore, not only because of this retribution, but also for consciences sake. And this is why you should pay taxes, too, because the authorities are all serving God as his agents, even while they are busily occupied with that particular task. Pay to each one what is due to each: taxes to the one whom tax is due, tolls to the one whom tolls are due, respect to the one whom respect is due, honor to the one whom honor is due.

In this passage, Paul notes that government has its own objective and its own power. People often confuse the role of the government, which is to bring retribution to the wrongdoers, with religion, which has a different objective.

Someone has said that we should always reach for the stars. We may never get there, but if we get to the moon, weve done more than we would otherwise. This same holds true of Christianity. Christ said, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect. This idea is pie in the sky. No one can ever be perfect. By attempting to be perfect, however, we end up being better than we would have if we had not tried. Paul again has something to say about this, reflecting on Christs death and resurrection. This is so that the laws requirements might be fully satisfied in us.