Are you for or against government? Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, in his book Do the Right Thing, makes the point that the only time you need more civil government is when people cannot govern themselves. He is absolutely right! The question should not be how much government is needed, but who should be doing the governing?
Civil government is not the only arena in which this is true. Proverbs speaks of at least three kinds of government. “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction,” (Proverbs 3:10-11a). The highest order of government is the one God provides; He Himself performs it. He is the perfect disciplinarian. He knows how much discipline to enforce and how to do it.
“My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother,” (Proverbs 6:20). In the home, parents are to govern children. A newborn child needs complete oversight. There is nothing he can handle on his own. However, as the child grows the parent’s objective becomes to train the child to govern himself. This is done in small incremental steps until the day when that child leaves the home to begin a new one. At this point, the government is completely up to him.
This leads to the third type of government mentioned in Proverbs: self-government. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life,” (Proverbs 4:23, emphasis added). The discipline a child receives is not to be temporary; it is transitional. You never outgrow the need for governing; it is simply that the one who administers it is supposed to become you. And while you may experience God’s discipline in your life, He often graciously allows you to correct things yourself before He steps in.