The Needs of the Governed – The Law of God and Public Policy

The Needs of the Governed
The Law of God and Public Policy

Public policy must be pursued for the sake of the governed, not the governors.

“Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.” Deuteronomy 17:16, 17

Our text represents perhaps the first acknowledgment in human history that government must be restrained in its activities or it will surely establish policies favoring its own aggrandizement.

Those who served as kings in ancient Israel were not to covet power, pleasure, of pecuniary reward in their service to the nation. The policies they pursued must not be designed to satisfy their desires or enhance their power or status. The fundamental principle undergirding the decisions and actions of government, herein revealed, insists that those who are called to public service must keep the interests of those served first and foremost, and must guard against all tendencies designed to promote mere personal or political advantage.

The logic of public policy begins, therefore, in understanding that public policy is for the well-being of the public, first of all, and not for those who make public policy.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.