“No class or group or party in Germany could escape its share of responsibility for the abandonment of the democratic Republic and the advent of Adolf Hitler. The cardinal error of the Germans who opposed Nazism was their failure to unite against it. ”
~ William L. Shirer
In honor of William L. Shirer, an American journalist, war correspondent, and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, who was born on this day in 1904.
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“I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors…; in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. The safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is the best security of law as well as the surest pledge of freedom.” ~ Alexis de Tocqueville
In honor of Alexis de Tocqueville, French political thinker and historian, who died on this day in 1859. Tocqueville traveled the United States and wrote one of the earliest works of sociology and political science in his Democracy in America.
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This Day in History for 16th April
Alexis de Tocqueville Quotes on America as a Christian Nation
“And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” 1 Samuel 8:7
I love democracy. I think that it is the best form of government for those who are ruled. I have read history books of how various forms of government have functioned and there is no perfect system in which one man or group of men rule the others.
It seems to me that the checks and balances of a democratic system is the best form because it acknowledges the corruptibility and fallibility of men and women.
However, my opinion is based on theory and not experience. I am expressing my opinion about the best form of government that has ever existed, which also happens to be the only system that I have ever known.
There was once a form of a government that no longer exists. It was the government of Israel when God was their recognized king. I don’t know what that was like. I have never lived in a country where God was the recognized king. However, I do know that God as King is the way it is supposed to be. I know this because God tells us in His word that Israel sinned by rejecting Him as being King over them.
We all have grown up with some form of governmental system ruling over us. I wonder if that may skew how we relate to God.
Just as a person, who has had a horrible father figure, may have a difficult time relating to God the Father, I think that I have a difficult time relating to God the Monarch. All I have ever known are the checks and balances of a democratic system. I was taught that I have enumerated rights. I was instructed how I can appeal to the higher authorities of the judicial branches if the legislative or executive branches impinged my rights. I have grown up in an environment where opinions and editorials flow out on a daily basis. I have seen how these opinions influence the gears of government.
I don’t know what it is like to live under the rule of a King.
I don’t know what it is like to be a monarchist.
No one knows what it was like when God was the king over Israel.
That has to affect me. Democracy is what comes naturally to me – it is all that I have ever known. It is important for me to check my bias for democracy from entering into my spiritual life. Whether we realize it or not, we are all under a monarchy. We live in a universe ruled by the King of Glory. Our God is called the King of kings – that means that we are in a monarchy. It just so happens that we reside in a realm of His kingdom that is in rebellion. The little kings don’t believe that the King of kings is still ruling over them. We are in a realm that is delusional enough to think that they are in control.
I never want my biased mindset to deny that reality of the King of kings. I never want to make the mistake of seeking my security in a governmental system of man. I never want to believe that my prosperity resides in the policies of bureaucrats. Now, I am not saying that Christians should not function within their established governmental systems. We know that God places the governmental system into existence. However, those systems are not where my hope resides. I never want my actions to deny the King of kings.
I am a servant of a King.
What about my rights – opinions – possessions? What if I don’t like the type of pot that I have been molded into? None of that has a claim over the authority of the King.
Servants do what their King tells them to do.
All we have ever known is a kingdom in open rebellion. That doesn’t change the reality that there is still a King. A King, who will one day, reestablish his kingdom.
How are you living in the mean time; as a monarchist or rebel?
PRAYER: Father, you are my King. I acknowledge that you reign supreme in all areas of my life. Father, I don’t recognize any authority higher than you. I am your servant. Where you say, I will go. What you command, I will do. I am yours – all of me. Father, thank you for being such a good King. Thank you for not leaving me as mere servant but adopting me as a son – an heir of the King; a Child of God. Lord, you know that I don’t really grasp what that means; that I cannot fully understand the gift you have given me. I look forward to that day, when my eyes are fully opened. Until that day, Lord help me to be a faithful servant – remind me that you are the King of kings and no matter what these lesser kings may do on this earth, that you are still on your throne. Amen
A DEVOTED LIFE 