The Law

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8: 3-4

Does the law protect or perfect? This is not an idle question, for the view one has of the law has broad consequences. There are those who believe if just the right laws are passed, that humans can be reformed and society can achieve the ideal. History would seem to show this to be not just a false hope, but a dangerous one, as utopian movements have a nasty tendency towards eliminating that which doesn't fit in their imagined order. Those who don't conform go to the camps; those whom the camps can't remold disappear. Yet somehow, despite mountains of skulls, these efforts never yield paradise.

If the law doesn't reform, what does it do? It restrains. Why must it restrain? "Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint." Human beings are born self-centered (as any parent of a baby can attest), and only gradually learn (provided they are taught) to take others into account with regard to their impulses and decisions. The law orders society to prevent people from running roughshod over one another in pursuit of their idea of "the good life," whatever that may be.

What happens, though, when the law itself is enlisted to seek advantage over others? Most law today is a result of this pursuit by various 'special interests' to promote their agenda and force others to go along.

As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose--that it may violate property instead of protecting it--then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious. -- Frederic Bastiat, The Law

Most of the laws resulting from such fighting merely give State sanction to actions we would never tolerate from individuals: theft, fraud, deceit, even murder. For all those who decry the influence of lobbyists in Washington, a simple question: would lobbyists descend on D.C. in such armies if the government had not grown so powerful as to aspire to control every aspect of its citizens' existence (for their "own good," of course!)? Do those who complain about lobbyists and their influence want to reduce such power in government or do they merely seek to substitute their own agenda for the ones they disagree with?

This is the trap into which much of the evangelical voting block has fallen--seeking to use the law to perfect society, when it has no power to do any such thing. Only God can do that, through the lives of those who seek after Him. There is certainly a need for Christian voices in government. Otherwise, few, if any, are likely to speak up for the most helpless that the law is supposed to protect. But no amount of legislation will ever reform the human heart, and it is just as wrong to seek government funding of "faith-based programs" as it is to advocate government funding of abortions. In either case, property is being seized by force from taxpayers to subsidize that with which they disagree.

We've become pretty adept at petition drives. But our nation would be better off with more prayer drives.