Separation
of Church and State
I want to talk with you today about
the subject, separation of church and state. Admittedly, I haven’t been trained
in this subject; or, for that matter, I haven’t even taken a course. However,
it is a subject discussed frequently and most often is a subject of dissension.
To that end, I would like to present my view.
I’ll say up front, when I refer to the
state, I’m referring to our national government, The United States of America.
When I refer to the church, I am referring to the Christian Church, the church upon which our Constitution is based. In my view,
God is our Creator and the basis of all things–that’s my starting point. Please
don’t get scared, or be offended and run off down the road. This may be Sunday
morning, but it is not a Sunday school lesson–or a lesson in religion for that
matter. However, I must have a starting point and a base on which to build.
My base of justification is this. God
created the heavens and the earth on which he placed man. I’m sure you all know
the story so I’m not going into detail except to say that God created the earth
on which we live for all men. The earth and its resources belong to all of us,
rich and poor, believers and non-believers, alike. We’re all in this together,
and he has ordained that we live in peace and harmony with one another. Many
believers and non-believers alike do not think this; but religion, any
religion, is a thing of the heart. It is between you and your God. If you really believe a certain way, you should and will live that way. It’s a given. “Where
your heart is, your money is, also,” etc. Your beliefs should be obvious from
your lifestyle. This is said throughout the Bible, Old and New Testaments
alike, your government notwithstanding. So much for religion–Jesus said, “Give
to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. He wants your heart, mind,
and soul. The remainder is between you and your government to whom you, also,
have an obligation.
I said, above, “The earth and its
resources belong to all of us, rich and poor, believers and non-believers,
alike”. An efficient, hard-working, conscientious government (beyond that, I
won’t go in this posting) has the responsibility (it’s their job) to manage the
affairs of our nation for the well being of everybody–no exceptions. This means
Gays, atheists, black, whites, Latinos–everybody. It should be obvious, just
from this that the law of the land, if fairly administered, is not going to
match the law as given to us by God in the Bible. The state must govern all;
and, in our democratic republic, all have a personal responsibility,
politically and morally, to maintain control over that government. Those who
fail to live up to that responsibility deserve what they get. No government is
any better than the quality of its people.
What is my conclusion? When you have a
government elected by the people, and that government doesn't live up to the
beliefs of your religion, there is a valid reason–our world is here for all of us.
God gives us free will to make up our own mind. He doesn't force anything upon
us. In terms of spiritual beliefs, neither should government.
I submit one more thought to you. When
you have a government that claims to represent your spiritual values, beware of
wolves in sheep’s clothing. Christians, real Christians, don’t lie, cheat,
steal, and unnecessarily kill people, politics notwithstanding. Church should
and must be separated from the state. That’s my view. What’s yours?
Ronald
Miller
mtss86@bellsouth.net
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