August 2018
Multi-Layer Government
The nation of America, which was established by people who escaped European authoritarian governments, was set up with a multi-layered form of government that is answerable to the will of the people it governs. We have a republic form of government ruled in a “multi-people rule” democracy rather than a “single-person rule” monarchy, “religious ruled” theocracy or a “ruthless authoritarian” dictatorship. The people of our nation make their voices heard through representatives, who then select other officeholders, all of whom are ultimately responsible to the will of the people. Because the nation is answerable to the people, it is of utmost importance that the people stay engaged in the process, has a window into the work of their representatives and holds them accountable. It is apparent that the financial success of our nation has caused the American people to withdraw from the tedious work of staying in tune with their representatives’ action and whether or not their values, integrity or transparency is reflected in policy. It is always easier to lie down and let someone you trust to be in charge of leadership but trustworthiness should not be taken for granted.
Unjust Government
The unintended effect of the lack of public participation in the political process is that representatives have been free to stay in office and make contacts and agreements that serve their own interests without public visibility or accountability. In absence of the public’s continual engagement, we have come closer to the authoritarian type of government than anyone ever wanted. Representatives, on a smaller scale in local and state politics, have taken authority to perform and enact whatever they feel is best upon the people without their participation and without concern for their best interest. This has put the people in a position of submission to unjust laws and policies of which they may be directly opposed. As the nation has awaken to the pressure imposed upon them by these leaders and their illegal and unjust practices, they have risen to the same realization as the first settlers who ultimately threw off European rule because of its oppression rather than sensitivity to their needs. We have witnessed protests and uprisings in the streets because of the injustice of American leaders on people at various levels. Leadership lack of sensitivity to the people is showing up at all levels of authority in American business, religion and politics.
Uninvolved Citizenship
What the American people may not have realized is that their own lack of protest on the lower levels of responsibility in their homes, churches, communities, cities and states have given rise to the very visible irresponsible, authoritarian and un-American positions that are showing up in the highest levels of our government. We all have to take responsibility for our part in the failure to hold leaders accountable to the people. Many of the unethical political leaders served in positions unchecked in society before they became political leaders. President John Adams stated: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
In defense of individual citizens of America, many may have not been taught or been misled to believe they have no power to call their leaders in check where they have gone astray. Leaders have often tried to demand complete submission to their leadership; and the people of America, long infatuated with the glamour of movie stars, have wanted to look up to people of power. From the times of early movies, affection developed for those who dressed up for public admiration. As America developed popular religious, social and political leaders; lack of responsibility and accountability began to be expected as Americans looked starry-eyed at leaders. Leaders became more important than average people. Consider the Camelot atmosphere of the President Kennedy days. Public leaders were expected to be more intelligent and knowledgeable than those in everyday home life who were too busy with day-to-day duties to give themselves over to study of these complicated fields. Citizens began to rely on public leaders in a blind faith. That is why America finds herself today bound to leaders in authority to whom they must submit their will. That is the definition of authoritarism: blind submission to authority. Examples of such notable personalities are: Genghis Khan, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon Bonaparte, Father Junipero Serra, Queen Isabella I.
Why Complete Submission to Authoritarians is Wrong?
The breakdowns of systems are often occurring over time rather than overnight. America did not arrive overnight at its present dilemma of having top government officials in questionable financial, business and personal relationships that could bring them in submission to foreign dictators. The pattern has been practiced and perfected in American culture for many years and at various levels of leadership. Once accepted in lower levels of society and publicized it was an easy track to progress to state and national acceptance. Organized American systems have proven to be both an advantage and disadvantage that can be used as a stairwell for misuse of its systems.
Americans are accustomed to submitting to authority over city, state and national governance by persons who may arrive in those seats through unethical means and gain compliant subjects. The problem though is how then does one remove an unethical leader after being made acceptable through the process. We have all heard the stories and difficulties of other nations trying to remove an unjust leader and know it is a messy proposition. We have heard of the harsh rule of King Henry VIII, (England 1772-1791), and the abrupt removal of Queen Marie Antoinette (France 1755-1793). The history lessons of other nations present warnings and wisdom for us. We certainly see through history the wisdom of not allowing such authoritarian leadership in our society in the first place.
Why Checks and Balances Failed?
Our nation has a democratic process and a multi-layered system of checks and balances operating from local to national leadership. The recognition of the present dilemma and fear of America coming under Russian influence through its president has our people energized to search out how it could have happened. There are so many threads running through our government and nation that any one of them that becomes corrupt has the potential of undoing this close-knitted political process. We have recently watched as some legislation seemed to have come up overnight to the forefront when, in fact; groups, lobbyists and political leaders had a planned strategy for decades. Once a leader has been overcome by corrupt influence, his or her power is already established and the resistance necessary to change is like rowing upstream. Again corruption seldom occurs overnight but people in close proximity, for one reason or another, failed to alert others in the line authority about the danger.
Failure of employees, laypersons and citizens to alert authorities of potential threats is a fault in our system that has rewarded compliance more than standing up for what is right. We have scorned people and called them out as being a snitch, rat, traitor to the group, uncommitted, or failing to be a team player, etc. The concept of team player has been so promoted in business and sports so that any dissenting voice is considered treasonous. Businesses have promoted training sessions that advanced the theory of being a team player and upholding the group at all cost. This was not based on any moral standard and has no biblical background. Businesses are primarily geared to watching their profit margin more than protecting ethical positions. Recently a long-standing national bank learned the difficult lesson and suffered the consequences of promoting profit over ethics. As business strategies have infiltrated every sector of our community to gain success, moral values have been pushed back as unwelcomed. Our moral standing in religion, community, businesses and politics have fallen victim to these business strategies.
How Adherence to Truth and Religion Should Have Protected Us?
Faith in God is a laughable concept to most in our community today because of the public failure of so many of our religious leaders, who were in fact taught by the for-profit religious institutions and schools. Many business, legal and politically systems were actually developed through an outreach of religious systems of the church. The Law of Moses encompassed all area of the community as he outlined how the people of faith would be governed. Christianity, which was developed out of that faith, continued to establish godly systems that would protect and govern the people. The outgrowth of Christian churches developed into charitable organizations, hospitals, schools and businesses that were formed from a moral foundation and system of values. When these systems became prosperous, they began to throw off their religious foundation and moral values. Unfortunately today teachings on prosperity, religion, business success and democracy are on a collision course; and those that try to keep them linked are compromising Christian faith.
The truth that Jesus brought was a rebuke of religious leaders and merchants who had compromised the faith. His teaching admonishes us to go to the one that we find a fault in and discuss it one to one. He publicly rebuked the religious leaders, political scoundrels and business exploiters. The Jewish leaders of that day had a combined responsibility for the law, religion and collecting money. The religious leaders joined forces with their foreign leaders to exploit the people under them for profit while failing to obey biblical requirements themselves. This is a circle of human failure that repeats itself throughout history. We have seen the religious and political groups join forces of corruption in our past history, in our present; and it is prophesied to be the ruin of the nations in the end times as the antichrist utilizes it for his evil advantage.
When Jesus told us the love of money is the root of all evil and to rather seek first the kingdom of God so other things could be added; He was speaking to people very much like us. The same things Jesus told His audience applies to us today and we would be wise to translate them into our times. That is the job of religious leaders in our communities and their failure to do so is the weakness of our nation. We are seeing some persons in public office stand up for integrity under pressure and we are seeing some fail. The Christian gospel has always been that rock on which one could stand up for truth and believe God would preserve us as He did Abraham, Elijah, David and Hebrew boys through corrupt and ungodly societies. The truth will eventually rise up and those that stand and wait for it will be on the right side as was Mandela through many years of turmoil and suffering while Africans fought to throw off ungodly rule over their nation. God will always side with the righteous but who is on the Lord’s side?
Where is God’s Church?
Jesus came to bring restoration of the righteous ways of God, the Father. He taught disciples who were to teach the nations how to follow God in righteousness. Jesus died for the healing and transformation of nations through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was sent by the Lord to lead and guide us into all truth. Godly leaders have the responsibility to teach God’s ways to society but some have been diverted or corrupted along the way and chose to serve their own needs rather than the people committed to their charge. Some became powerful in authority like the European leaders that the first settlers fought against to form a free nation.
America, born of European descendants, has slipped back into that old European pattern of corrupt religious and government leaders who conspire against the people. The people of Europe were subjects of the king but Christians are subject to their God, who is King of Kings. The authority Jesus left His disciples is the authority to uproot and throw off the devil’s power, wherever it is found. The Christian church should not allow the devil to sit on the throne of authority in the church or civil government, which both originated in a Righteous God. Righteous indignation should rise up against the devil’s seat in the church and the godly layers of authority in the church provides a method for removing ungodly leaders as Paul did in 1Timithy 1:20 – “Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” Christ is in authority of the true church and He has given authority and empowerment to His people to occupy in righteous authority until He returns. We hold that power and authority for His namesake. This power is biblical truth, not a form of dominionism that distorts truth.
When the church rises up to cleanse and purify itself, then the saints can be a positive force in cleansing the land of corrupt political leaders through a stand for truth that will make the devil sit down or leave town. God told His people that they would be the head and not the tail but God’s people are not acting like they are the head or walking in Christ’s authority. God is holding His disciples accountable for the state of the earth and He has declared that judgment would begin at His house. The world cannot cleanse itself. Timothy taught: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2Ti 3:16-2Ti 3:17).” If the church would throw the devil out of the House of God then we could proceed to throw him also out of authority in our nation. But the truth is that the corrupt government learned and gained power through a corrupt church. Consider how the religious leaders promoted Rome’s judgment to crucify Christ. That is where repentance and change must begin.
God has revealed to America in the daily news that corruption is found in every layer of American society and authority and a cleansing is needed. Correction must come to God’s church first. Shake it off saints! Throw off the devil and his work. Let your voice be heard. Stand up and God will stand with you. We are not to be found hiding from the devil but instead standing up and fighting his tactic until Jesus comes. We are accountable to Christ for the power He has invested in us to heal, deliver, set captives free and establish His righteous Kingdom on earth; not through unrighteousness or violence, but by love. Christ’s blood was shed for our victory and His power is left with the true church. Where is God’s church and what is it doing? Stand up Church!
Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. Lk 9:1
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Lk 10:19
Truth and Life Ministries of Christ with Apostle Joyce Reba Payne 