There should be a balance between the importance of the individual and the state. If the individual is infinitely more important than the states this can be warped into a sick humanistic survival of the fittest. If the state is infinitely important, it can turn the citizens into systematic robots. Today we will see how there must be a balance between states and human rights. How our cultural places the individual on a throne. And how individualistic humanism is exalted. But Christ is infinitely important than both the individual and the state.
I vehemently believe each individual is important. Even the smallest groups deserve a voice. There is a balance between the importance of the state and the individual. This balance is imperative. If one side is uplifted more than the other. The system will likely fail. In facist communist government, the government is more important than the individual. Individual rights are trampled. But if there is a democracy there can be tyranny of the majority or mob rule. These also heartlessly trample small groups and individual rights. God showed men through history what the balance of the individual and state is. That balance is found in a Participatory Representative Socialist Republic society. This society is careful not to trample on the rights of the minority. Carefully, a government will make sure that needs of the weakest and least “important” are taken care of. This shows that the Individual is important but the state also must have power. Frankly, I believe this is the best balance of individual and state. Because if the state has too much power life loses color. This an quote from The Giver a Dystopian society where all choices were made for you and life was without color choices and spontaneity. “The Life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. The life without color, pain, or past.” Without choice life loses its color, pain, and past. The difficult days allow us to appreciate the best days. For happy and well-mannered society the importance of the individual and state must be balanced.
Everyday you hear people talk about social media. According to the Pew center 74 % of internet users are on social media. People can use their social media pages to glorify God or for self glorification. Society can reflect this. Many people take pride in their accomplishments. Google+ a social media site even has a place to put your “bragging rights”. Loudly the culture screams at us to do you, love you, be you, you are the most important. There's so much self glorifications. Everyone has to have the latest style of clothes, the best smartphone, and the coolest vacation photos. In the media you can see the onslaught. Every commercial is bellowing you need this. Buy that Buy this. Our culture exalts the self. There is even a magazine called Self.
New age religions also glorify self. These beliefs are that You are a God. God is in you. Speedily, this adds fuel to that all about me attitude. As our culture promotes the all about me attitude everyday we can choose who to glorify. GOd or ouselves
Self love and Selfishness that our culture project leads to emptiness. God does not want us to experience the tragic emptiness that leads to storing things for ourselves. God lovingly tells us.
Matthew 6:19-20 New International Version (NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
God want to wisely store things where it matters in heaven. Everyone can tend to have the all about me attitude. People tend to put on there “but me” glasses. I’ve done this too. It may go like this. “ I got 90% on the test,”
“But I got a 98%.” Is the reply. People do not like to hang around those who constantly have their “but me” glasses on. I’ve been caught putting on my big fat loud colored “but me” glasses. But as Christian God calls me to higher. He wants me to take off my “but Me” glasses and put on Christ. Christ wants to save us the embarrassment of putting our huge gaudy but me glasses on.
Luke 9:23 New International Version (NIV)
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
I must deny myself daily. Everytime I reach for those glasses. I must deny myself. God wants us to deny ourselves if we want to follow him. He wants to save us from the emptiness and depression that selfishness brings.
It is not about you or me it is about Christ. He is infinitely more important than the state and the individual. He helps us see the error in our ways. In the Bible it shows tyranny and how if the individual and state aren’t balance it leads to tyranny or anarchy. This is my message. He is above all.
If society is balanced it will be set up like a triangle. Christ will be at the top state and individual at the bottom corners. If this balance is kept society will flourish.This balance is a difficult one to keep. But as we have seen countries flourish and have a happy well-mannered society if this balance is kept.
Bibliography
"Social Networking Fact Sheet." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. Pew Research Center, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment