February 1, 2009

Dear Friend,

With the stench of political corruption filling the air, is it fair to ask how we got to this miserable place? It isn’t hard to see the picture at the immediate level. Power corrupts. Money is merely one form of power. It is as simple as that, and there is nothing especially new about it. I think the founders of our society understood this from history, and perhaps even from the Bible. Power destroys freedom, and it must necessarily be so.

Let me tell you, as simply and succinctly as I can, exactly how it works. Once upon a time, there was a people who lived free. Their government was a theocracy. God was their King. But God held, as a fundamental value, maximum freedom for the individual. To that end, he had delivered these people out of slavery. He gave them what came to be called "The Law of Liberty." There was very little in this law about enforcement. Only when one man’s actions affected the liberty of others did judges come into play.

Their government, apart from God, was decentralized. Based on the ancient tribal system of family and blood kin, elders governed cities, towns, and communities. There was no central federal government.

But the people quickly learned that freedom had a price. There were bandits who had to be controlled. There were other organized governments that had to be fought off. Yes, God fought for them, but not while they sat at home. They had to go out in the field and fight for their freedom. As long as they stayed faithful to God, life worked. It wasn’t easy, but there is no way to make life easy while maintaining freedom.

That is one of the most important lessons you will ever learn, so let me repeat it. There is no way to make life easy while maintaining freedom. Freedom carries with it a burden, and in the process of time, mostly due to their own failures, freedom for these people was becoming a burden too heavy to bear.

So, a delegation of elders came to God’s man with a request. His name was Samuel. He was getting old, and his sons were starting to abuse their power, taking bribes and perverting justice. So they came to Samuel and asked for a king, like all the surrounding nations.

Be sure you grasp this. They had lived under a theocracy. God had been their only King since they left Egypt. And it wasn’t that he governed with a heavy hand. Far from it. As Jesus would later say, "My yoke is easy and my burden light."

Let’s be sure we understand what was about to happen. God was going to give them the best man who could be found for the job. He would start out humble, little in his own eyes, even though he was a very tall, handsome man. What Samuel was to tell the elders was the inevitable result of giving this kind of power to a single man.

The prediction handed down by Samuel reads almost like a description of the government we live under today, even though we have a president, a Congress, and a Supreme Court, not a king. The problem is the underlying power structure. When you centralize power in man, you get corruption. Only under the rulership of God is there freedom.

It is a long and painful story, but it has to be told again to this generation. That is what I do in a new radio program that is all too timely, titled, A Culture of Corruption. If you want a FREE CD of this program just call or write our office by March 15th to receive it free. If you prefer to listen or download now please click here.

Telling the truth to a new generation, 

Ronald L. Dart

PS. Remember, the CD is FREE until March 15 and there is no obligation whatever. Don’t hesitate to order it if you cannot afford to give. Many others donate so we can do this.