The antithesis of freedom is Socialism/Communism. Some people think that absolute freedom is anarchy. They are right. Freedom must go hand in hand with God and His ideas or we will end up in chaos.
The United States is now a Socialist country. Iowa is a Socialist state. Seeing it is as simple as this… People have needs. We need clothes, food, shelter; we need money to buy all the things and experiences that make life meaningful, interesting and creative. God designed us to turn to Him for all of our needs yet instead we turn towards government when we need something.
Whether it is a flood or a virus US citizens turn to the government. Recently my own Representative sent me an email update that she is supporting a bill to help families pay for childcare. That sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? Yet it is Socialism. When people have needs, they should turn to God, not government. The government only can give away money it takes from others.
If someone I know needs a coat, do I help them by taking my neighbor’s coat and giving it to them or do I give them a coat of my own? Socialism is giving them my neighbor’s coat, freedom under God is giving them mine. I would suggest that if my Representative sees a need that she gives her own money to that need, not her constituents’ money.
The people employ the government. If my boss gave me $100 to buy supplies for the business and on the way if I see someone who needed money, do I have the right to give my boss’s money away? No, whether it is a hungry person or Warren Buffett looking to decrease his tax burden, it is not my money. What if 6 employees working for that business voted on it and decided to give their boss’s money away? Would that be right? No. That money should be carefully accounted for.
It is always good to help when you see a need. The people of the church are required by God to tithe not so that the church has new carpet; rather the Lord’s house should have supplies and sustenance for the needy. Then when people come, they can start to hear of how they can turn to God for healing, for money, for all their needs. If they accept God’s hand, they too can call down the blessings of God on their lives instead of continually being dependent on handouts. No one wants to be that person.
That is the path to living in freedom. God has promised when we turn to Him, follow Him, He will care for us. He has placed within us Godly desires that He will bring to fruition if we allow Him. Our country, our lives can be peaceful, purposeful and dynamic through Him. The government can’t do that, it shouldn’t try and we need to vote in lawmakers who understand these concepts.
Author: Janna Swanson
Janna Swanson helps her husband Paul farm in NW Iowa with their two young daughters. Since 2013 Janna has volunteered her time and energy for her community. She was a key member of the Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance that protected landowners from the Rock Island Clean Line. From there she helped start and facilitated the grassroots group, The Coalition for Rural Property Rights to help protect community members from industrial wind installations. She is also a board member of National Wind Watch, a 25-year online collection of information of the industrial wind opposition from around the world. Most importantly Janna is a follower of Christ and seeks to help others to know and understand Him. Yet because she is also seeking deepening her own knowledge and understanding she welcomes critical, constructive debate. No one has the corner on truth, we all see “through a glass, darkly”. (I Corinthians 13:12)
