Why Constitutions, Rules,
and Government
I remember Johnny __________ when I was in grade school.
He was dumb as a rock and had fists of rock. He terrorized the playground. He
had his cadre of followers who waited on every word and admired him. He mouthed
off at teachers, pushed people around, stole lunches, and generally prepared
himself to be a politician in some two-bit municipality, or perhaps a member of
some little church. He was the only government on the playground--the rule of
the gangster. The playground was a lawless place, for Johnny was the rules.
If states and families and churches are not to be ruled by bullies, there must
be the rule of law. The strong care nothing about property--they take what they
want, whether its a cookie from a schoolmate's lunch or a billion dollars from
the taxpayers. Johnny won all the marbles because what his shooter missed, he
kicked out with his feet. He picked all his strong buddies for his team and won
the baseball game 45-0 because no one could get his team out. He boasted,
"Only five of us beat all the rest of you." It was mayhem in football
season as his five buddies mowed down everyone in "touch" football.
Yea, sure, the "touch" of a Mack truck
There was complete abrogation of government responsibility by the school
because no teacher was ever to be seen on the school ground. Not in those days.
Teachers stayed inside and graded papers or something.
Johnny used to say to anyone who opposed him, "Wanna make something out of
it?" Nobody ever did.
Bullies rule by ridicule, railing, scoffing, and threat of other kinds of
force, including intimidation of the guilty. When they are not breaking the
rules they are seeking to intimidate anyone who would testify to their
lawlessness. They are particularly adept at imposing the rule of the
underworld: "Don't be a narc!" They hate and fear the rule of law and
order and hate those who try to impose it. They despise those who want to keep
the rules.
They attack the weak and attack those who try to protect the weak and then
attack those who defend the defenders of the weak. It is all very boring once
you get it figured out. Bullies have no imagination and do the same things over
and over again. The bully is completely predictable.
It takes moral and physical courage to stand up to bullies. We have precious
little of that nowadays.
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the
feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all [men].” (1Th 5:14)
Bullies love ministers who comfort and support and are patient, but woe unto
that minister that warns the unruly! If he does the last the bullies will
accused of being the bully.
It was really a shame the way that David picked on that poor Goliath, who just
wanted to have his own way. Doesn't everyone? No.
