The Logic of Public Policy (1) – The Law of God and Public Policy: First Things (8)

The Logic of Public Policy (1)

The Law of God and Public Policy: First Things (8)

Public policy is about what government should do.

“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

The work of public policy relates to government decisions and actions which are designed to facilitate its role as a servant of God for good. We are examining what we might call the “first principles” of public policy with a view to applying God’s Law to our own day. In this and the next installment we shall consider the twin pillars of the logic or rationale for public policy. What fundamental principles must guide governments as they work out the details of public policy?

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. Kings of Israel were not to covet power, pleasure, or pecuniary reward in their service to the nation. The policies they pursued must keep the needs of the people and the nation above their own interests.

The prohibitions mentioned here are really quite relevant to our day. The first prohibition is against unnecessary military build-ups or influence. Many horses were the backbone of an advancing army. Israel did not require cavalry since it was not a nation seeking to conquer its neighbors by military force. It would not have been in the public weal to structure the nation for military prowess. It was enough that the people be ready to defend their homeland against foreigners. For this a large cavalry was not essential.

The second prohibition was not simply against the pleasures of the flesh, though it certainly included that. Kings in the ancient world took many wives as a way of securing their own power, either by marrying into foreign courts or by fathering sons to defend them against traitors. The well-being of the nation required a king whose heart was devoted to the Lord, not to wives, progeny, or himself. In our day it’s not to many wives that politicians turn but to cronies, donors, and people of influence. The more of these a politician has to please, the less able he will be to serve the public weal.

The final prohibition against excessive wealth speaks to a temptation politicians from every age have had to address. Public office has a way of attracting money to it, not infrequently in ways that are connected to favors or power or both. No public servant should be motivated by financial gain or become entangled in schemes to promote personal wealth while he or she serves the public for good.

So the first law of the logic of public policy is that those who are called to public service must keep the interests of those served first and foremost, and must guard against all tendencies that would seem to promote personal or political advantage. Public policy, in other words, is not about what governments can do, but what they should do, that is, if they are to fulfill their callings as God’s servants for good.

When it comes to applying the Law of God to public policy, all citizens must make this first principle a guiding principle in all they do.

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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.