What in Tarnation?

Pardon my Southern upbringing for a moment, but what in tarnation is going on? I was hoping things would calm down after the presidential election and our Federal Government would actually try and get some things done for the good of the people.

Well, I was wrong.

Our entire governmental process is becoming more and more unjust and less and less trustworthy. The lengths people will go to stay in power, or gain power, proves the truthfulness of the old saying, “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” While this post is primarily about the injustice of the present administration, please understand I believe there is enough blame to go around. Our entire governmental system is in need of deep cleansing.

Presently, the Obama administration is bogged down in 4 scandals.

1. The terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi and the following cover-up.
2. The IRS blocking groups, who opposed Pres. Obama, from receiving tax exempt status.
3. The Justice Department eavesdropping on the telephone conversations of journalists.
4. The IRS seizing 60 million personal medical records.

While I have not followed #s 3 & 4 very closely, numbers 1 & 2 concern me greatly, especially #2. In my opinion, the abuse of the power by the IRS, if true, is the most sinister of all the scandals. They are all bad, and the incompetence that led to 4 deaths in Benghazi is horrible, if not criminal. But I think Benghazi was a result of bad foreign policy that downplayed a serious threat. After the tragedy, in order to win re-election, the attempted cover-up moved it from a tragedy to a disaster to an atrocity of ineptness.

But the IRS scandal is different.

The IRS is an incredibly powerful arm of the Federal Government. I don’t fear our military. In fact, quite the opposite, I respect our military. I am not afraid of our judicial system. The Congress and Senate scare me a little, but mainly because of their abuse of power and seemingly lack of concern for the common good. But the IRS, that’s a different story. Four times a year the IRS intrudes on my privacy and makes me report all my income. The IRS has the power, at any time, to audit me, make my life difficult, fine me, and imprison me. The IRS scares me, and to now know that an administration will use the power of the IRS to silence people who stand in opposition to them is an attack on what it means to be a United States citizen. When the IRS is used to silence opposing voices we no longer have a representative democracy. When the IRS uses its power to intimidate and discriminate against groups and people, we are traveling down a dangerous road that leads to an authoritarian style of government. Benghazi was bad foreign policy that had unintended results. What the IRS has done was intentional, and that is what makes it a more serious attack on justice than the other scandals. (If someone says, or writes, that similar things took place during the Bush administration, it will not surprise me and will just prove my point that the entire system is becoming more and more corrupt.)

I am becoming more and more cynical and more and more convinced that our Federal Government can no longer be trusted to do what is best for the American people. That’s a horrible statement to make. It is a painful admission on my part, and it’s not because President Obama is in office, it goes much deeper than one person. If the other party were in power I would feel the same way.

After all, it was the previous administration that drug us into a war that violated most of the principles behind the Just War Theory. Even if you believe the war was just, the way it was carried out, and continues to be carried out, violates Just War Theory. Additionally, the war was put on a credit card which contributed to the recession from which we have not escaped and from which the present administration’s policies seem to make worse, not better. At best, this administration is inept, and so was the previous administration. At worst, our entire Federal Government is corrupt. And that is why today is a sad day.

“When justice rules a nation, everyone is glad; when injustice rules, everyone groans…An honest ruler makes the nation strong; a ruler who takes bribes will bring it to ruin…A ruler who listens to lies will have corrupt officials. The poor and all who abuse them must each depend on God for light. Kings who are fair to the poor will rule for ever…Without guidance from God, law and order disappear, but God blesses everyone who obeys his laws” (Proverbs 29:2, 4, 12-14, 18).

What’s the answer?

Well, for me, I will continue to show respect to the President and the office he holds, but I will not trust him, or anyone else in Washington from either party, to work for the common good. I will continue to pray for our national leaders and for our country. But now, more than ever, my complete trust and hope for my future, and the future of my children, will rest in Jesus and His coming Kingdom. I think I will adopt the attitude of the believers in the New Testament – pray, perform my civil duties, pay my taxes, and work hard; but keep the Emperor at arms length while I wait for Daniel’s word to be fulfilled…

“During the time of those kings, the God who rules from heaven will set up an eternal kingdom that will never fall” (Daniel 2:44).