PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

August 6, 2023

LOCAL/NATIONAL

For the last several months I have been revisiting our nation’s founding documents and the dynamics that were at play for their production.  I now have a better understanding of just why certain elements are in the Constitution.  Almost every article has a story to tell.  I was struck by just how similar the political discourse was in this country when it was founded and how it is today.  One of the ongoing debates has been between a strong national government and strong local governments.

My “Golden Ellipse” suggests that both a strong national government and strong local governments have their place.  The option is not “either/or” but “both/and.”  There are some issues where one political philosophy would seem to be the most appropriate approach.  There are other issues where a combination might prove most helpful.

In the early days of our nation each of the states had their own currency.  This proved to be a nightmare.  Thus, a national currency was created to facilitate interstate commerce.  One of the issues of the Article of Confederation was its impediments to creating a military force to battle the British.  The Constitution provides for a national military force to deal with foreign aggression.  These are two illustrations of where a strong national government was the most effective avenue to deal with the issues facing our country.

Today, there is a lot of discussion of a national minimum wage.  This sounds good until one realizes that the cost of living is not uniform.  The cost of living index for Hawaii is 179, for California, 134.5, and for New York, 125.1.  Mississippi has the lowest cost of living index, 85.3.  The cost of living index here in Indiana is 91.5.  A minimum wage which would be appropriate in Mississippi or Indiana would hardly be sufficient in Hawaii, California, and New York.  One that would meet the needs of Hawaii, California, and New York would have serious economic consequences for Mississippi and Indiana.  Local factors need to be included when determining an adequate minimum wage.  When I had a pulpit exchange at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands it had the highest cost of living under the American flag because most consumer goods had to be imported.

In Acts 15:6-29 we have the account of the Jerusalem Council.  The meeting had been called because of a disagreement concerning the circumcision of Gentiles.  All of the early church leaders were present.  It was decided that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised but should “abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood (Acts 15:20b).” All agreed on the central belief that one is saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.  The council commissioned Paul, Barnabas, and others from their numbers to be missionaries to the Gentiles.  While not mentioned here in Acts, we do know that as Paul journeyed from city to city he took a collection for those suffering from famine in Jerusalem.

At the Jerusalem Council the responsibility of sending missionaries was done by the council. The council also established the rule for all churches that members not eat meat offered to idols. When it came to deciding if new Christians need to be circumcised it was left up to the local congregations.  While it was not mandated, Paul gave each of the congregations he founded the option of taking an offering for the poor in Jerusalem.  The only absolute for everyone was that they believed they were saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In its early days the church was “both/and” not “either/or.”  In last week’s article we saw how four hundred years later they reaffirmed this “both/and” thinking with their affirming the two natures of Christ.

How much of the present day national bickering would disappear if both sides adopted “both/and” thinking rather taking the position “my way or the high way.”

(This is the third in a series about the “Golden Ellipse.”)