Liberating Planet Earth
by Gary DeMar by Gary DeMar
The Liberation of the Individual 69 down fashion. This is the pyramid of power. “Man must remake man !“ This means that a few men must remake all the others. Self-Government Under God When we say “government,” we usually have in mind the state, meaning civil government. But civil government is not by any means the only form of government. There is family government and church government, too. But most important of all is seZf-government. In bringing up children, especially in a large family, how could parents manage if the children did not mature as they grow older? If each child took as much careful attention and close observation as a three-year-old, it would be nearly impossible to do a good job. The hope of every parent is that as each child grows older, he will become more wise, meaning self-disciplined. This is true of every organization except insane asylums. Whether we are speaking about an army, a police force, a family, a school, or a business, if those people with long experience fail to exercise self-government, the organization breaks down. What this means is that those at the top cannot spend the resources necessary for monitoring the behavior and performance of all those under them. No organization has that many spare resources. Those at the top issue general rules – make good grades in school, make a profit in business, grow a crop, clean up your room, etc. — and then monitor people’s performance once in a while. The emphasis is on increasing the extent of individual decisionmaking, in contrast to bureaucracy’s system of reducing the zones of freedom. God’s hierarchy is a bottom-up system, an appeals court. Because God is all-seeing, He can monitor our performance continually. Yet even God restrains Himself. He brings judgment from time to time in every person’s life, but He does not stand at our sides yelling orders in our ears. He expects us to become mature in the faith. This means that we must increase our own self-monitoring under God’s law-order and in terms of our specific goals for our lives.
70 Liberating Planet Earth This means that government is to serve as a sort of appeals court. It begins in the family. “Dad, he took my ball!” “She hit me!” “He said he would help me clean the kitchen if I helped him with his homework!” And so on. Parents serve as referees. So do policemen, judges, and pastors. The basic model is in Exodus 18, where Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, told him to appoint righteous men as judges over the people, so that only the hard cases would come up the chain of command. Satan’s hierarchy is different. It, too, is a chain of command. It, too, resembles a pyramid. But it is a top-down command structure, a bureaucracy rather than an appeals court system. If he had his way, Satan would monitor everything we do. Unlike God, he trusts no one, since he himself is untrustworthy. So we see in all satanic administrations an attempt to substitute massive bureaucracy for self-government. Satan has no permanent law-order. He keeps changing the rules. (In this sense, the Marxist explanation of historical change is totally satanic: all laws are said to change according to the historical era and the mode of production.) Thus, Satan must monitor everyone under him, for there are no fixed standards by which his subordinates can judge their performance or their rewards or punishments from superiors. Hierarchy in Satan’s kingdoms is everything, for he is neither all-powerful nor all-seeing. Self-government counts for very little. The less of it, the better, in Satan’s view. And yet he needs it, for he is not God. He cannot monitor everything and everyone, as God can. So he is forced to rely on an aspect of God’s creation and God’s covenanted order if he wishes to achieve his evil goals. He cannot be fully consistent with his own desires and standards if he wishes to exercise power. He has to steal huge chunks of God’s system even to function. He is a creature; he remains dependent on God. Thus, when the Christian thinks “government,” he should instantly think, “self-government under God’s law.” This is true liberation theology, and the basis of God-blessed, long-term dominion.
- Page 26 and 27: Chtit and Liberation heart, soul, a
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The Liberation of the Individual 69<br />
down fashion. This is the pyramid of power. “Man must remake<br />
man !“ This means that a few men must remake all the others.<br />
Self-Government Under God<br />
When we say “government,” we usually have in mind the<br />
state, meaning civil government. But civil government is not by<br />
any means the only form of government. There is family government<br />
and church government, too. But most important of all is<br />
seZf-government.<br />
In bringing up children, especially in a large family, how<br />
could parents manage if the children did not mature as they grow<br />
older? If each child took as much careful attention and close observation<br />
as a three-year-old, it would be nearly impossible to do<br />
a good job. The hope of every parent is that as each child grows<br />
older, he will become more wise, meaning self-disciplined.<br />
This is true of every organization except insane asylums.<br />
Whether we are speaking about an army, a police force, a family,<br />
a school, or a business, if those people with long experience fail to<br />
exercise self-government, the organization breaks down. What<br />
this means is that those at the top cannot spend the resources necessary<br />
for monitoring the behavior and performance of all those<br />
under them. No organization has that many spare resources.<br />
Those at the top issue general rules – make good grades in school,<br />
make a profit in business, grow a crop, clean up your room,<br />
etc. — and then monitor people’s performance once in a while.<br />
The emphasis is on increasing the extent of individual decisionmaking,<br />
in contrast to bureaucracy’s system of reducing the zones<br />
of freedom. God’s hierarchy is a bottom-up system, an appeals<br />
court.<br />
Because God is all-seeing, He can monitor our performance<br />
continually. Yet even God restrains Himself. He brings judgment<br />
from time to time in every person’s life, but He does not stand at<br />
our sides yelling orders in our ears. He expects us to become<br />
mature in the faith. This means that we must increase our own<br />
self-monitoring under God’s law-order and in terms of our specific<br />
goals for our lives.
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