Daily Archives: February 8, 2024

Why Libertarianism is Impractical, but Biblical

Christian Life

Libertarianism is a political and social philosophy that upholds liberty as its core value. In practice, this may look something like “leave me alone to do what I want… I make my own choices”. It’s a wonderful idea if you want to put up solar panels without endless miles of bureaucratic red tape. It’s probably not a wonderful idea if you want raise cattle in your townhouse complex or purchase a battle tank for recreational use.

Murray Rothbard coined the term ‘non-aggression principle’ (NAP) to describe the natural limits of libertarianism. The NAP states that “no man or group of men may aggress against the person or property of anyone else”. In other words, my liberty should not aggress your liberty. Thus, libertarianism only works if you and I accept and respect each other’s liberty. Though I may be free to steal your piano accordion, that would be an aggression against your property.

When God put Adam in charge of the Garden of Eden, He told Adam that he was free to eat any fruit from any tree, except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:15-17 (NIV)
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

The consequence of eating from the forbidden tree? Death. Adam certainly had the freedom to eat from that tree (we know the story…), but the consequence was spiritual death. True freedom, then, is not necessarily ‘free-without-limits’. Human scholars admit this too, as we have seen in the example of the NAP. Rather, true freedom must occur in a particular framework that can sustain it. Freedom left unchecked has every potential to lead to destruction. Add to that a sinful nature and you have a recipe for disaster.

It is important to differentiate between ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’. Freedom refers to an individual’s ability to act without restraints. In other words, to do what you like, when you like, and how you like, without impediment. Liberty improves this notion by adding certain limits, such as the NAP. Therefore, in the strictest sense, liberty is freedom with appropriate societal limits. Liberty is ‘good’ freedom. Theologically speaking, the most important limit to freedom is God and the most important framework for liberty, or ‘good’ freedom, is God’s moral code. Creation cannot aggress the Creator.

Think of the 10 Commandments: the first half concerns our relationship with God and the second half concerns our relationship with men. Jesus summarizes these in Matthew 22:37-40:

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (ESV)

The greatest framework for true liberty, true ‘good’ freedom, is love. But not just any kind of love. The specific agape love for which God has set the precedent. He loved first and showed us how to love. Without His love, we cannot ever know how to love properly.

1 John 4:7-11 (ESV)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Nothing good can come from our flesh, our sinful nature. We could aspire to live with liberty as our most fundamental right, but on what grounds do we establish limitations in order for everyone to enjoy liberty? Without God’s moral code, summarized in love, we have nothing sustainable. Who then can say that I am wrong to play loud music at 1 o’clock in the morning? Why should I care about my neighbour? In reality, the world does not know God or His love. The world does not have a framework in which to truly espouse liberty. Libertarianism is impractical for the simple reason that man is governed by his sinful nature and true liberty is not possible without the framework of agape love.

However, as Paul says in Galatians 5:1, Christ has set us free for freedom. The covenant of grace established by our Heavenly King and the law of the Spirit, which now governs our hearts, frees us from requiring justification by works. In Christ, we are no longer bound to our sinful nature and we experience the truest freedom of all: eternal life in the presence of and fellowship with God Almighty. This is true libertarianism: living perfectly free in the confines of God’s magnificent love without any interference from sin, dysfunctional governments, or cantankerous neighbours!

JOSEPH, GOD’S MAN FOR THE HOUR – 3

Bible Study, ,

God’s “buts” always turn trouble into triumph! As Paul discovered in his many crises,

‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NLT‬
[28]… ‘God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.’

Joseph stood in line for God’s favour in his new situation as prisoner in Pharaoh’s prison because of his looks and integrity….and God’s purposes. The charge against him merited his execution but…

‭Genesis‬ ‭39:21‭-‬23‬ ‭NLT‬
[21] “The Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. [22] Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. [23] The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.”

Once again, Joseph stood out among the other prisoners and was soon promoted to head prisoner. Imagine that! Head prisoner! What an honour!

His new position gave him access to all the other prisoners which was exactly what Joseph needed for the next phase of his journey from prison to palace.

What did Joseph think of his dreams at this point? Did the memory of his dreams guide him and keep his hope alive when all his experiences in Egypt pointed in the opposite direction? Did his faith in God grow or diminish during these years of testing?

‭Psalms‬ ‭105:16‭-‬19‬ ‭NLT‬
[16] “He (God) called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply. [17] Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave. [18] They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. [19] Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.”

You can be sure that God is always up to something when He is dealing with His own people. From our perspective, our situation may look messy, impossible, beyond hope, and yet…when we dare to trust God and believe that He is working for our good, the present situation couldn’t be better!

So, Joseph works with all the prisoners, gets to know them, shares his stories with them, wins their trust until…

A crisis arises in the lives of two of Pharaoh’s employees.

‭Genesis‬ ‭40:1‭-‬4‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] “Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. [2] Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, [3] and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. [4] They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.”

They are both sent to prison and land up under Joseph’s care, right in line with God’s plan! Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Eleven years have passed since Joseph’s ordeal began, eleven years of testing, waiting, hoping, but nothing seems to be happening… Yet, God is moving all the pieces into place for the perfect moment.

Dreams again, not his this time, but the dreams of Pharaoh’s officials.

‭Genesis‬ ‭40:5‭-‬8‬ ‭NLT‬
[5] While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. [6] When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. [7] “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them. [8] And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

Joseph’s divinely appointed moment!
He interprets their dreams and both, in turn, receive the fulfilment of their dreams, the butler reinstated and the baker executed.

‭Genesis‬ ‭40:13‭-‬15‬ ‭NLT‬
[13] “Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. [14] And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. [15] For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

‭Genesis‬ ‭40:20‭-‬21‬ ‭NLT‬
[20] Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials. [21] He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup….
[23] Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

In the flurry of his restoration, Joseph’s plea to be remembered is forgotten. Joseph must wait another two long years to complete his training before promotion comes… Another two years go by, bringing Joseph to the age of thirty…

Although God uses people of all ages to fulfil His will, significant people in the Bible began their ministry at age thirty; priests (Numbers 4:3), King Saul (1 Samuel 13:1), King David (2 Samuel 5:4), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1), and even our Lord Jesus Himself (Luke 3:23).

To be continued..