#10: Governing Oneself

#10:  Governing Oneself

A wise man has said: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

                         

We have witnessed that it takes more than a change in government to change a nation. What does it take to build a free, just, prosperous and compassionate nation?

What does the wise man’s quote above tell us about where the building of a godly nation begins? Explain!

A wise man once said, “A man cannot govern a nation if he cannot govern a city; he cannot govern a city if he cannot govern his family; and he cannot govern a family unless he can governhimself.

Free, just, prosperous nations require citizens - from the president to the street vendor, from the rich to the poor -- who govern themselves.   Who behave justly and honorably—even when no one is watching. Who provide for their families and serve their communities.  Who do good to their neighbors— even their enemies.

Without such self-governing internal character, chaos and then tyranny will inevitably result.

Do you have the quality of character required for freedom? Ultimately it comes down to each of us. If our lives are characterized by selfishness, greed and fear more than by compassion, generosity and hope, the inevitable result will be broken relationships, broken communities, and broken nations. 

So this is the question: Can we change? Can we be who the Creator calls us to be?

Yes, change is possible. There is hope. But we cannot change our deepest character on our own. We need help from someone stronger and better than us—someone who is completely good. Such help is available, and it is free. It is closer than you think.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#9: Work Ethic

#9: Work Ethic

For nations to prosper economically, they must live out a work ethic – work as hard as you can, save as much as you can, give as much as you can.

For most of human history, people lived in poverty. A small ruling class was wealthy; all others were servants and slaves. Work was seen as a curse. Yet God created people to be creative and industrious. God is creative and hard-working. Man, who is made in God’s image, finds dignity and purpose in his work. Men and women are created by God to use their minds, hands, and hearts to generate wealth, provide for others, and create beauty.

Poverty gives rise to tyranny, while prosperity fosters freedom. Free, just nations require industrious, creative people who provide for their families and communities, and cause their lands to prosper and flourish.  Nations rise out of poverty when people understand that work is not a curse, but part of the essence of human dignity. All moral labor—not just religious work—is sacred.  Not only religious leaders, but all people have vocational callings. The work ethic that lifts nations out of poverty is summarized in three virtues: 1) Work hard. 2) Save prudently. 3) Give generously.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#8: Family, Basic Building Blocks of a Free Nation

#8: Family, Basic Building Blocks of a Free Nation

God is Trinity, so we have been made for relationships. The family is the basic building block of society. Voluntary associations of citizens are the first place where societies problems are to be solved.

What are the signs of a healthy family?

How healthy are the families in your society?

How healthy is your family?

When there is a problem in your community, to who do people look to solve the problem?  The government? The ruling class? Why?

The family is the first and most basic social institution created by God. For this reason, healthy families are the fundamental building blocks of free, just, and prosperous nations.  The first lessons of virtue and self-government are taught and modeled in the home.

The life-long covenant of marriage between a man and woman before their Creator is the foundation of a healthy family. Marriage is created by God. As such, it is a sacred institution. The husband is to lead, sacrificially serve, provide for, and protect those in his home. The wife sacrificially supports and nurtures her husband and children as well as facilitates a loving and safe home environment. Parents bear the first and primary responsibility of educating their children. Their goal is to form virtuous, intelligent, and self-governing human beings with the morals needed to master themselves, and with the knowledge and skills needed to master the world. 

Without virtuous, wise citizens, healthy nations cannot be born or sustained.  Ignorance and vice lead to corruption , slavery and a culture of death; wisdom and virtue lead to justice, freedom and a culture of life. Free, just, and prosperous nations value, protect, and uphold the basic institutions of marriage and family, and place a high value on the education of its citizens.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#7: Restraining Mankind’s Inclination towards Selfishness

#7: Restraining Mankind’sInclination towards Selfishness

A wise man has said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Where do you see corruption in your society? Think specifically in terms of such places as politics, business, and the courts.

                              

Where do you see corruption or injustice in your church? Why is there corruption in the church?

Where do you see corruption in your own life? Please be honest!

While human beings are capable of acting virtuously, they are also born with an inclination towards selfishness and wrongdoing.  All people have evil thoughts, speak harmful words, and make decisions that harm other people and God’s creation.

Because of this inclination towards selfishness, tyranny results when one person, or one family, tribe, or clan has too much power.  Power can corrupt the best, most sincere human being—the more power that is accumulated, the greater the potential for corruption. Human history proves this to be true.

Freedom will not be maintained without intentionally protecting it.

In order to create free, just, and prosperous nations, a people must take into account this human inclination towards selfishness. They create government structures that diffuse political power to different branches of government rather than concentrating it in one person or group.  They also diffuse power between national, regional, and local levels.

Having multiple centers of political power provides a defense against tyranny by creating a system of checks-and-balances. Another defense against tyranny is a free press that can expose corruption, as well as political, economic, and social abuse. When such abuses of power are not brought into the open, freedom is undermined.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#6: Governed By the Consent of the Governed

#6: Governed By the Consent of the Governed

God, not man, is sovereign over the universe. Government exists for the good of the people, not the people for the government. A nation is most free when people establish the government and the government is accountable to the people.

Would you describe your country as economically free? Why or why not?

Would you describe your country as politically free? Why or why not?

Government exists for the good of the people, not for the good of the king, prime minister, or president.  The government of a free, just, and prosperous nation is instituted by the people in order to protect and secure their fundamental rights.  Such governments derive their authority by the consent of the governed, not from social status, privilege or wealth.  The use of government power for self enrichment of the leader and his family and friends betrays the fundamental purpose of government to serve the people. This abuse of power destroys nations.

Government by consent of the governed stands in contrast to: 1) the tyranny of the state or religious leaders, or 2) the anarchy and chaos that results from each person doing what is right in his own eyes. Free people are ultimately responsible for the form of government they have. When governments no longer serve their legitimate purposes, it is the right of the people to change or abolish it, and constitute a new government.

 A people who institute a civil and God honoring government that derives its authority from the consent of the governed, are the freest people of all.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#5: Property Rights

#5: Property Rights

God has provided human kind all the resources they need to carry out the creation mandate. People have a right to own and steward their property whether it is internal or external to the individual.

Who ultimately owns everything?

God has provided human beings the resources they need to develop their communities and nations. What are some of the:

a.       Internal resources (capital) you have been given steward?

b.      External resources you have been given to steward?

God is the rightful owner of all he created, but he has entrusted property to his stewards.  God forbids stealing. When people have their property confiscated by the powerful, corruption sets in and the nation suffers. The governments of just, free, and prosperous nations document and protect the ownership of private property.

In addition to physical property, God has also provided a host of non-material resources. These include time, talents, the ability to reason and to be creative, and relationships—with him, with our families, and with others.  In addition, most people have access to public resources such as libraries, schools, roads, and museums. This bounty of resources is to be wisely stewarded to create a culture that honors and glorifies God.   A nation’s wealth is found, not in the amount of money its citizens and government possesses, but in its virtuous character, the excellence of its craftsmanship, its music, art, and science. Wealth is created through the wisdom, intelligence, creativity and wise stewardship of free people.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#4: God-Granted Rights

#4: God-Granted Rights

God has granted human beings with certain intrinsic rights as human beings. These human rights are not granted by, nor can they be taken away by, governments.

What are human rights?

Where do human rights come from?

What is the relationship between human rights and human responsibility?

When God made human beings, he granted them certain rights as human beings. Because these rights are given by God, no government can rightfully take them away. The most basic purpose of government is to secure and protect these God-granted rights. These rights are essential for building free, just, and prosperous nations. The most basic God-granted rights are:

The Right to Life – The right to live is foundational to all other rights. Remove this right and all others become void. The life of every human being is sacred because all are created by God. Even the weakest, most impoverished and most vulnerable life is immeasurably valuable to God. When a government fails to protect this right, a culture of death results and the nation is weakened and imperiled.  

The Right to Freedom – Every human being is created by God to be free, not enslaved. God grants freedom for people to choose how to use their time and their resources, to pursue their vocation, friendships, associations, and even their religious beliefs.

 If worship is to be genuine, it must be voluntary. It cannot be forced on people against their will. God grants to people the freedom to choose to obey or disobey Him—to serve, or not to serve him according to their best judgment. Governments of free, just, and prosperous nations do not force compliance with any particular religious belief or practice. Rather, they respect the right of people to worship God, or not worship Him, according to their own conscience and convictions. 

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#3: Human Dignity

#3: Human Dignity

Each human being is made by God, in his likeness; each person is unique and has dignity and honor that is to be recognized and respected.

Who are the people your culture sees as inferior? Another tribe?Another race?Females? People who are disabled? Make a list!

How are these people treated by society?

God is the rightful owner of all He has made. He knows his creation intimately, and every part is important to Him. He created everything for a distinct purpose.

Every human being is made by God. God has given every person dignity and honor. Because of this, all people are equal before God, and equally accountable to God. Every human being—regardless of race, religion, age, skin-color, sex, social status, poverty or wealth—is important to God and of immeasurable worth.

God has given human beings a unique set of abilities, including the capacity to speak, to reason, to choose, and to love. He has given these so that mankind can rule over creation and cause it to flourish. Because God is the ultimate owner of all he created, humankind is accountable to Him for the wise stewardship of his creation.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation

#2: The Law Is King

#2: The Law Is King

It is not the king (or president, prime minister, or emperor) who is king, the law is king. Free, just, prosperous and compassionate nations are not ruled by men, but by the rule of law.  

What is meant by the term rule of law?

How does the rule of law differ from the rule of man?

What is civil disobedience?

When is it morally right to break a law?

God alone is sovereign over the universe. Neither government leaders, individual citizens, nor religious leaders are sovereign. God has established a moral law that applies to all peoples in all times. This law is summarized in God’s Ten Commandments. Free, just, and prosperous nations are built upon the foundation of this eternal law from God. Because this moral law comes from God, it is the highest authority in the land.

All people, even political rulers, are under it, and accountable to it. This is the rule of law as opposed to the rule of men. Without this God-ordained moral foundation, those who hold political power can arbitrarily change laws protect their power and favor the interests of their clan or tribe. Rulers are unaccountable, and tyranny is the result.

Citizens of free, just, and prosperous nations respect governing authorities and abide by the laws they establish. But they also understand that God’s moral law is more fundamental. If those in authority create laws that violate God’s moral law, then citizens must practice “civil disobedience’’. They must obey God’s law first, and be willing to face punishment for violating unjust laws.

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#1: Opportunity for Nation Building

#1: Opportunity for Nation Building

Revolutions may overthrow tyrants, but they are no guarantee that one tyrant is not replaced by someone or something worse.Free, just, compassionate and prosperous nations are built upon certain God ordained fundamental principles.

What does it mean that Free, Just,Compassionate and Prosperous nations are built?

What does it mean to be a nation builder?

The world celebrates the courage of those who risk their lives to overthrow tyrannical governments. Because of their daring and valiant stand, a precious opportunity exists—an opportunity to rebuild nations.   -- To create governments which foster freedom over tyranny, justice over oppression, and prosperity over poverty.   -- To form governments which respect the honor and dignity of every citizen.

Yes, an opportunity exists. But there are no guarantees. History is littered with countless once-promising revolutions that resulted in even greater tyranny and oppression. Can this fate be avoided, and if so, how? 

 Free, just and prosperous nations are like fruitful trees. To flourish, they require the right conditions, and the right soil.

What are the conditions that give rise to free, just and prosperous nations?  What are the foundational principles upon which such nations are built?

This is what we must understand, for upon it depends the future of our nations, our families, and our very lives.

Credit: Disciple Nations Alliance and Harvest Foundation