Passages

A Government Under God

A Government Under God

by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

My search for understanding on the topic of democracy was triggered by the manuscript in-the-making of author-speaker Dave Magalong, who was writing a groundbreaking book on “Building A Nation Of Character.” Dave touched on democracy.

I wanted to find out if the ideals of democracy should really be what we should strive for, as Dave suggested in his early draft. In my research, I realized that the Greeks developed the idea of democracy, which is, as we know by rote, a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. It is a rule of the majority, who are represented by elected public officials.

Searching further, I pondered on the form of government the Hebrew people had before they asked for a king to rule over them like the nations around them had. It dawned on me that before the Hebrews had a king their form of government was a theocracy, wherein God directly guided the Hebrews through the prophets and judges. Samuel was the last judge of the Hebrews and he was also a prophet, and giving way to the clamor of the Hebrews for a king, the tall and stately Saul was anointed by Samuel to be the first king of Israel.

If the Hebrews did not insist on a change in their form of government, God’s form of government for His chosen nation would not have departed from theocracy. Later on, when the shepherd David ruled as king over the Hebrews, theocracy was in essence restored as the form of government of the Hebrews because King David ruled under the Lordship of God. Central to the governance of King David was the 24-hour daily praise and worship lifted up to the one true God. He assigned four thousand singers to praise and worship the LORD night and day. And King David’s reign became the greatest period of Israel’s history.

I concluded that a government under God is therefore the ideal form of government — a government whose officials are divinely guided.

I quickly reflected on the present state of the nations of the world and realized that my conclusion was not far-fetched.

Norway is one of the best countries in the world, all things considered, yet it is not a democracy. It is, in fact, a socialist country; not only that, it is still ruled by a monarchy but also has a constitution. Thus, Norway is a socialist, constitutional monarchy. Yet consider this, in terms of its economy it ranks always among the top 10 in the world. It has such a strong economy that it did not even have to join the European Union to secure its trade and labor amidst globalization. Norway does not have to be under the mercy of any other state or amalgamation of states. Even in the aspect of oil, it does not have to be, as with most nations, at the mercy of the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), the consortium of oil-producing Arab nations that supply most of the world with crude oil. Why? Well, God has blessed Norway with the discovery of ample fuel and energy source in the North Sea, which is west of Norway. Norway, in fact, supplies oil to the Scandinavian and northern European nations.

Not only is its economy blessed, its society is also blessed — with a well-preserved, majestic environment and people who value integrity and honesty. A few years back, Reader’s Digest did a study that tested and compared the degrees of honesty of peoples of different nations. That test entailed a wallet filled with money that would be intentionally left unattended. The wallet contained information where it could be returned. The nations whose people returned the wallet 100% were Norway and Denmark. The other more popular western and Asian countries had dismal results. One can conclude that Norway has a people of character.

Another positive aspect of the character of Norwegians is generosity. I remember former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said in a television feature, “For every dollar the U.S. gives to charity, Norway gives 20 dollars.” He was noting how the U.S., known for giving to the nations, actually still paled in comparison to Norway when it came to generosity.

Going back to the economy of Norway, it is highly diversified and balanced, meaning, unlike the Philippines which remains eighty-percent agricultural, Norway makes sure that no one industry or economic sector dominates and that it can generate wealth from its rich natural resources in many ways, not just from agriculture. The contribution of agriculture to Norway’s economy is 19%. Besides agriculture, Norway has a highly developed power and energy industry, a strong banking and finance sector, and world famous maritime and marine industries. Remember the legendary seafarers called the Vikings? Well, those Vikings were the predecessors of the Norwegians, and until now Norwegians have kept their maritime industry strong and superior. And how about the famous Norwegian salmon — nothing like it.

I can only surmise that the king of Norway must be just and benevolent. Although he is a king, he allowed his people to draft and ratify a constitution and he abides by this constitution. Because he is a leader of character, his government can carry out the true form of a socialist society, where wealth is equitably distributed and accessible to all. We can’t say the same for other socialist countries, which are characterized by oppression and abuses by those in power and by poverty and fear among the people.

I shared my conclusion with Dave. I said, “Our nation must strive not for democracy but for a righteous government, where our leaders govern with justice and benevolence and with the wisdom and guidance of God.” Dave agreed with my thesis.

A year after I gave my comments to Dave, the special end-of-the-year issue of Newsweek in 2003 ranked nations according to many categories, one of which was the quality of life. Rank #1 in the quality of life was Norway.

Having looked into the way Norway conducts itself as a nation, I had insight into why Norway topped the category of “quality of life.” First of all, it is a nation of character whose leader and people have within themselves noble values like honesty and generosity; they have harnessed with a sense of awe and responsibility the natural wonders of their environment; they staunchly kept their sovereignty amidst mounting pressures to join economic alliances. With only 4 million people, the Norwegians and their king have made a great nation out of Norway. Democracy was not the reason Norway is a rich and powerful and beautifully developed nation. The reason is the nation’s character.

How do we oppose corruption in our country? I heard a preacher declare in his Sunday sermon what I thought was a simple yet possibly the best solution that I had heard of in the quest to eradicate corruption in our country. He said, “Fight corruption with generosity.” How is that so? The Preacher explained, “Corruption is because of greed. The opposite of greed is generosity.” Ah, yes, it made sense. Norway gives much more to charity than does the most powerful nation of the world. Could it be that its trait of generosity makes its people incorruptible?

Scripture says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” How can a nation be ruled with wisdom so that it doesn’t falter and fail? The answer points back to God. How can one rule without wisdom, and how can wisdom characterize a ruler unless he fears the LORD?

What is our solution then to the heightening despair of our nation, which is so rich in natural resources just like Norway, an archipelago just like Norway, but unlike Norway is suffering from heartbreaking poverty, overwhelming foreign debt, proliferation of crime, and immorality in high and low places? Our country is among the nations with a low quality of life — we are ranked somewhere below 70 and going further down. Could it be that a government under God is what we should strive for so that we can rise from the mire and experience a fullness of life as we live in our country? Could it be that if we strive to build our character as individuals, starting with traits like honesty and generosity, we could then work toward mustering a force that can oppose the system of graft and corruption in our country — a force of people who stand for righteousness? Then with such a people, we can vote for leaders who fear God and who will allow themselves to be guided by God in governing our nation. If we build a nation of character and elect a government guided by God, the turnaround of our nation will begin.

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo is a freelance writer-editor. She is a case writer and book editor of the Asian Institute of Management, contributing writer of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC), and member of the Alliance For The Common Good (Ang Kapatiran) and the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). For comments, write rubycalo@yahoo.com.

posted by Ruby Ann Kagaoan - Calo @ 3:14 AM