By Myrna Conrad
The world was created in and functions through order. We can look at any living organism and see the order that must take place for it to function properly. We can examine any social system and see how order or chaos determines the success or failure of that system. The importance of order is evidenced in families, in businesses, in industry, in churches, in schools and in all governments.
For a social system or society to function well, there must be order; and to maintain that order, there must be boundaries, rules or laws. There are natural or moral laws and there are fundamental laws. Natural laws are universal moral standards that are inherent in humankind throughout all time. Some say they are the laws of nature. I believe they are based on the laws of God. These moral standards should be what lead to the development of our fundamental laws. Fundamental laws are the laws set based on the core values of that country or organization.
I think most people would agree that we need good and fair laws in any society to maintain order. However, it’s not enough for the laws to exist. There must be a system put in place to make sure these fundamental laws are fair and that they are enforced with equality. There also must be a system in place to change laws that are no longer needed or to add new laws as societies change and grow.
Both moral and fundamental laws provide norms of conduct for citizens within any society. Without established and enforced guidelines, everyone gets to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong and survival of the fittest kicks in. Without law & order there is chaos! We are seeing that played out throughout our country today.
Our country was founded on principles formed to protect the life and liberty of its citizens. Our country’s founders believed that in establishing these principles they should take into account human nature and what they believed to be the purposes of government to provide for its citizens’ “ordered liberty.” They understood the importance of order in this new republic form of government. In a constitutional republic, while the will of the people is sovereign, it must be administered through a series of checks and balances to insure the rights of all are protected. Our country exercises these checks and balances through its three branches of government – the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The legislative branch is the part of our government that makes laws. The executive branch gives veto power to the president in order to keep the legislative branch in check. The judicial branch is the part of government that interprets these laws. What a wonderful system our founding fathers put in place to insure “liberty and justice for all!”
However, when moral laws become skewed or ignored by any of these branches, this system falls apart and our country ends up in chaos. We see this throughout our country today. Lately, I hear things and see things, and I am sure you do also, that I never thought I would witness. There are riots and destruction; businesses are being destroyed and looted; people are being injured and killed. Crimes are rampant and instead of enforcing the laws that bring back order, some in our country want to do away with or defund the very institutions our country counts on to maintain law and order. How crazy is that!
We can already see what happens when law and order falls apart by looking at the rise in crime in the last few months in some of our larger cities. I recently heard a news report stating that crime is up 51% from where it was at the beginning of this year.
It is my personal belief that this decline in law and order started years ago with the decline in the moral values of our country. God gave us moral laws and guidelines for life, within His Word, in order to guide and protect us. When these are ignored, evil flourishes!
So what part do we play in restoring law and order in our country? It starts with us:
Be Aware:
– “Ignorance of the Law is no defense.” Therefore, understand the local, state, and federal laws under which you live.
– Understand our constitutional republic and the checks and balances within our country to maintain law and order.
– Know those candidates running for office within your city, state and federal government. – – Be an informed voter. It is your most precious right of citizenship.
– Realize that just because something is not affecting you directly today does not mean it will not affect you in the future. Alexander Hamilton said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
– Be aware that our enemies are looking for ways to tear down and destroy our country.
Be Intentional:
– Unless a law requires you to break God’s moral law, choose to uphold the laws under which you live.
– Be intentional about what you value most and what you will stand for.
– Be prepared to defend what you hold most dear.
– Example to those around you the importance of obeying our laws. Those you influence will likely do what you do.
– Use examples of what is happening today to teach your children or grandchildren the importance of law and order within our society.
– VOTE! Vote for those who care about God’s law and the original core values of our constitutional republic that if upheld assures “liberty and justice for all.”
Most importantly, pray for our nation. Put into practice 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
