Freedom From Corruption

This July 4th weekend, the USA celebrates its 238th year of declaring the self-evident truths that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." America's Founding Fathers were correct to publicly declare these rights, as the battle is constant against those who want to trample them, so much so that many Americans are disillusioned with the whole "American experiment."

 Whatever your opinion is of the state of the USA in 2014, please look at the chart above, comparing "freedom from corruption" in the USA to former communist Soviet Union countries SRS ministers to. A vast gulf exists between the USA and most former Soviet nations. Have you ever had to bribe a policeman to get out of a crime or traffic violation you didn't commit? Is the police force in your town trained to keep the peace, or are they trained to take bribes and help the local business thugs trample any potential competition? Does your church take money from the government in return for certain favors? If you live in America, the answer is most likely "no," but not if you live in a former Soviet country.

What is the solution to corruption? Is it to follow the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), doing unto others as they would do unto you? Well, as American theologian J. Gresham Machen wrote in Christianity and Liberalism, the trouble with the Golden Rule is that "the drunkard's companions apply the rule only too well; they do unto him exactly what they would have him do unto them --by buying him a drink." And as with the drunkard, the Golden Rule on its own, like a hamster on a running wheel, creates a cycle of corruption that is extremely difficult to end.

But, as Machen rightly observes, Jesus wasn't talking to the whole world when He gave the Sermon on the Mount. Indeed, "the persons to whom the Golden Rule is addressed are persons in whom a great change has been wrought--a change which fits them for entrance into the Kingdom of God. Such persons will have pure desires; they, and they only, can safely do unto others as they would have others do unto them, for the things that they would have others do unto them are high and pure."

The "great change" Machen speaks of is, of course, the Gospel. Salvation from sin in Christ alone has the power to change a thieving and covetous heart.

A nation with a high level of corruption is not a sign that the Golden Rule is being applied poorly. It's a sign that the Gospel is not taking root in the hearts and lives of a nation's people. It's a sign that rules without a relationship with Jesus Christ, while they may work for a while, are ultimately meaningless.

This Independence Day weekend, please remember the pastors and ministers that SRS sponsors in these former Soviet nations. Please pray that God will use their churches and ministries to bring about a "great change" in their countries, creating disciples and freeing nations from the cycle of corruption. If you would also like to contribute to SRS' ongoing material needs, click here to donate.