Safe and Secure – The Law of God and Public Policy

Safe and Secure
The Law of God and Public Policy

A peaceful and quiet society is also safe and secure.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.… 1 Timothy 1:1, 2

When people turn away from God, they look to themselves as gods and chart a course in life that works for them. If that means disrespecting others and their property—setting aside the fifth, eighth, and tenth commandments—so be it.

But as is by now apparent, we cannot achieve a good society when everyone is free to do what seems right in his or her own mind. The infamous “mystery clause” of the 1992 Supreme Court decision, Planned Parenthood v Casey, solemnly declared the right of every American to define his or her own worldview. And Americans have leaped at the opportunity with a vengeance. Now “tolerance” is the only virtue and “intolerance” is not to be, well, tolerated. We should all be able to say what we want, do what we want, wear what we want, sleep with whom we want, and get away with as much as we can—as long as it makes us happy.

But the problem is that people get hurt. Property is jeopardized. And some people—Aurora, Colorado; Newtown, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts—die.

Our present condition of disquiet is not the fault of our federal government. Not entirely, anyway. But whatever policies of America’s government have encouraged or exacerbated this situation must be reviewed and replaced.

For example, teaching relativist ethics in the public schools, allowing judges to make law on the basis of their own whims and opinions, and failing to require restoration or minimizing retribution for crimes against persons and property are practices neither just nor good. Rather than promote godly character and secure peace and quiet for all citizens, such policies make it increasingly likely that the wants of some will cause the liberties and wellbeing of others to be compromised.

Public policy can’t do everything to ensure a peaceful and quiet society. Recovering protocols of decency and consideration, and exposing and condemning incivility, disrespect, and violence against others are the work of families, churches, friends and peer groups, as well as private associations of various kinds. Government policies have a role in this, but public policies ensuring peacefulness and quiet will not be a priority of government until they are seen to be highly valued among the population.

A good society is one in which people feel safe and secure from threats within or without. Public policy is more than law; it gets at the kinds of behaviors law enforces or punishes, but it also speaks to the way of thinking and living which the agencies of government—including the courts and schools—endorse and promote. We need a widespread, lively public debate about the tenets of peacefulness and quiet that it is our right before God to enjoy and government’s responsibility, through public policy, to ensure.

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.

–

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.