Many of us know someone who invokes the Bible or the name of Jesus Christ in explaining why we should agree with Leftist ideology. It often goes something like this: “Jesus was all about love and kindness and helping the poor, so you should be like Jesus.” For these and other reasons, we must accept whatever policies the Left is pushing.
If we oppose socialist policies involving wealth redistribution, we’re reminded that God loves a cheerful giver. If we’re not convinced that offshore windmills can replace the energy provided by fossil fuels anytime soon, we’re told the Bible instructs us to be good stewards of the Earth. If we think cashless bail is a flawed approach to law and order, we’re told to remember those in prison, and that Jesus forgave a thief with whom He was crucified.
God does indeed love a cheerful giver. The Bible also tells us to work and keep God’s creation, and to be merciful to criminals and forgiving of their crimes. But an a la carte approach to the word of God, by ignorance or calculation, is a deception designed to manipulate people into guilty acquiescence of bad public policy.
The passage, “God loves a cheerful giver,” can be found in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. But immediately preceding those five words Paul writes, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion.” Paul was talking about generosity and how, “whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully.” He was not promoting government wealth redistribution.
The notion of caring for the Earth is as old as Genesis. As God prepared to create humans, He said, “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the Earth.” God then made Adam, “and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”
When contemplating man’s protection of the Earth and dominion over it, we should understand that part of the bargain involves recognizing basic needs for sustaining life. Aside from water and food, the next most important ingredient is energy. Without energy, civilization as we know it could not exist. Granted, there are some people who would prefer to live in a hunter-gatherer world pre-dating civilization, but almost nobody wants to live in a world that lacks energy and the society it allows.
In early biblical times, it was oil that provided light; olive oil. But there were unseen things in the world, different ways to generate light, that were not yet revealed. It wasn’t until around 600 BC when the Persians found one; they drilled and drew oil from the Earth. But what about despoiling God’s creation with pollution from using fossil fuels for energy?
Over the past half century, American emissions of air pollutants have declined by 77% according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA further reckons that tailpipe emissions from passenger cars are 98-99% cleaner than in the 1960s. This could be viewed as pretty good stewardship of God’s creation. As for man’s dominion over the fish and birds, we might consider all the dead whales suddenly washing up on Atlantic coast beaches near offshore windmill projects, or the millions of birds shredded by windmill farms.
When it comes to law and order, the apostle Paul was direct in his letter to the Romans. Regarding governing authorities of the time, Paul wrote, “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good.” He also warned the Romans, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.”
Authoritarians today are weaponizing the Bible, using it as a political cudgel. They want us to believe that mercy and wanting good order are mutually exclusive; they are not. They want us to think that forgiveness equates to affirmation of bad behavior; it does not. They insist that charity is best determined by government; it is not.
John’s Gospel tells us, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The grace of Christ is manifested in the gift of salvation, blessings and in many other ways. The truth of Christ is found in the whole of His teachings and God’s word, and the laws of God’s creation.
It is these truths totalitarians want to hide and misrepresent, corrupting biblical wisdom through the mind of man. They may know some passages from the Bible but the meaning eludes them or is deliberately obfuscated. It’s an ancient practice, recognized in the first epistle of John, who wrote, “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”