Does God believe in government spending?
Brian S. Chilton (archive)
February 4, 2004 | Print | Send
I prepared to listen to last month's State of the Union with a mix of thoughts. I am grateful President Bush accepts Jesus Christ as his savior. When he said Jesus “changed my heart,” I knew his faith was real and not that of a politician posturing for votes. I admire his leadership in the war against terrorism, and the manner in which he has conducted it. Where our enemy has said it hates us because of our Christian faith and heritage, President Bush has refused to respond in kind.
But along with my admiration of the President, I have been concerned about the growth of federal spending. Under the control of Republicans, federal spending has gone from $1.4619 to $2.011 trillion between fiscal years 1994 and 2002, a revolting increase of 72.7% and 3 ½ times the rate of inflation. President Bush has not reigned Congress in. The Administration’s current budget projects an increase of 4.16% from fiscal year 2003 to 2004, again during a period when the annual rate of inflation is forecast at 2.2%.
As a Christian, my concern with government’s growth is not merely economic. As government grows larger, it crowds out church and family. As we become more accustomed to government meeting our needs, it becomes easier to engage in the illusion that government, and not God, is our provider and refuge. It becomes easier for those hostile to God to argue that only government can be relied upon, that God is not real. When only government’s name is on the entitlement check, those who do not know Him have a hard time believing there is a God who cares about them more than the sparrow. This mentality has even crept into the hearts of believers. Are the seniors at your church more likely to panic at the cancellation of a prayer and healing service, or a cut in Medicare?
But as I prepared to listen to the President’s speech, I realized I had made no effort to search for what Scripture says about government spending and projects. As I read my Bible, one surprising example jumped out: Joseph’s successful administration of Egypt’s food supply.
Recall from Genesis that Egypt was seven years away from a seven year famine. Joseph, using the ability God gave him to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, convinced Pharaoh that Egypt should gather a fifth of the grain harvest each year to be used during the coming famine. The plan worked. (What a rebuke to this fiscal conservative who loves to rail against the inefficiency of government run social welfare programs!) At all times, Joseph was careful to credit God rather than himself. Even non-Hebrew Pharaoh acknowledged that God gave Joseph his wisdom and discernment. Those whose lives were saved must have been grateful, but Joseph and Pharaoh did not obscure that God, and not government, was their ultimate savior.
Ok. So maybe God does not think all government programs and spending are bad. With this in mind, I listened to the President. Early in the speech, he spoke of new expenditures to bring democracy to the Middle East. Uh oh. Nation Building. He must have had my suspicions in mind when he said, “We also hear doubts that democracy is a realistic goal for the greater Middle East, where freedom is rare. Yet it is mistaken, and condescending, to assume that whole cultures and great religions are incompatible with liberty and self-government. I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom. And even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise again.” The President referred to God and freedom again at the conclusion of his speech, stating “The cause we serve is right, because it is the cause of all mankind. The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable -- and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true.”
The President’s express invocation of God as the source of his direction caught me off-guard, and made me think. Isn’t the Middle East where freedom’s cry “let My people go” began? Will those who first taste freedom by an American President inspired by God be more likely to hunger for the true freedom that comes from the Christ followed by that President?
This kind of nation building may be frustrating and expensive, but if this President, as with Joseph, wants to spend money on a project while acknowledging God’s direction and role, then he has my support.
Now, expenditures for flying to Mars, and lessons learned by attempting to build a Tower of Babel to the heavens, are for another column . . . .
Brian Chilton is a senior counsel with the Washington, D.C. firm Foley & Lardner, and formerly Senior Counsel with the Office of the Independent Counsel for the Whitewater/Lewinsky investigations. Mr. Chilton seeks to integrate his faith with his legal practice and interest in politics, and is one of the lawyers representing the Christian mother of the girl involved in the Pledge of Allegiance case to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this term.
©2003 Brian S. Chilto |
