Broad meadows

Proverbs 1:7 states that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 9:10-12 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For through wisdom your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.”

So not only will you know more, but you will know how to use that knowledge in a right way. But what does it say about those who do not fear the LORD? If someone in a position of power has no ultimate fear of judgment in their own doings, what principle are they governing by? The problem with having someone is a position of power that has a wrong worldview is that they put their fear in the wrong things. Generally they fear other people and what they can do to them. Thus the need for governance.

When Israel asked Samuel to select a king to go out to fight their battles, this displeased Samuel, but God made it clear that they were rejecting him as king. The fear the people had was not for the one who performed miracles for them as a nation and brought them to their own nation, but for those other nations. This fear is a trap. As Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Why don’t I fear? Because I trust the LORD, the God of the Bible. This doesn’t mean I won’t suffer or die and nowhere in Scripture does it say otherwise.But Jesus says that even though we die, we yet shall live. That’s all the comfort I need. I expect to suffer, but I’m ok with it because I know Him in whom I have believed.

This is why governments continually stir things up, to justify their existence. Without fear and having the Spirit given ability of self control, one need not be governed. This is the importance of and the ability to self govern. The essence of the Old Testament law was to love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself. As the apostle wrote, love does no harm to his neighbor. If we can live like this we have little need to be governed, but those with an incorrect fear of man will continue to want to be governed and there will be those who take advantage of that fear.

It is the harm that needs adjudication. Where there is no harm, no victim, there should be no law. And this is the problem we face the most from governments. Instead of punishing those who do harm, they make and enforce laws where there is no harm, no victim. This is injustice. Instead of emphasizing the harm, they seek to villainize the means of the harm. But theft is theft whether a gun is used or pen, you don’t outlaw the means, but the harm done. This is what I mean by the show harm policy of law making. Where there is no harm, no sanction of any kind should be applied.

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