In His Service: Chapter 6 - Power and Service

The sixth chapter in RJ Rushdoony's book "In His Service" is about the common quest for power.

Not only will you find the quest for power within the family: husbands over wives, wives over husbands, siblings over siblings, children over parents, ... you find this quest for power in the church and in the state. Churches want power over the people, family, and also God. Their decisions and doctrines and their form of the sacraments and workings of the Holy Spirit are confined by this quest for power. The state has rallied to be the cradle to grave savior through fear-mongering in their quest for power. But power comes from the LORD. If you quest power then you must search kingdom of God.

Rev 18:1	And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 19:1	And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

The spirit of God says to owe no man anything. NO DEBT! Yet the family, church and state make it a faith to be in great debt. There is no more Gold standard, no just weights and measures. The greater the debt the more faith. This is not power. This is self-destruction. This was not so in a free society. Debt enslaves.

Children at one time were taught just weights and measures and how to save. Here is an example:

Rose's new arithmetic: An explanatory and practical arithmetic, adapted to ...
By John Rose

It is interesting that a gold standard monetary system restrains power because gold is not inflationary. Once you saved a dollar you saved a dollar. Now you save a dollar and you save a fraction of a dollar because inflation eats it away.

The common humanistic quest for power can be by might and it can also be by legalized (and illegal) larceny. Rushdoony reminds us that Christians are summoned away from this kind of quest. The love of God means faithfulness in God's power, godly power, and obedience to His law-word. "By their faith ye shall know them" Matthew 7:20

In His Service: Chapter 5 - Humanism as It Affects the Family

righteousness = justice
justice = righteousness

In this fifth Chapter of RJ Rushdoony's "In His Service" he continues to explain how Humanism destroys God's "Division of Labour" especially in regards to the family. What is "Division of Labour"?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Division of labour or specialization is the specialization of cooperative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and roles, intended to increase the productivity of labour. Historically the growth of a more and more complex division of labour is closely associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity of industrialization processes.

So, in other words, we don't call a baker when our cow needs a c-section. Likewise we should not call on the state to have power and control over our children, education, property, inheritance, welfare or marriage. These responsibilities, labours, belong to the family.

Scripture divides the labour among three major institutions: family, church, and state. Family is God's basic institution and it is given the responsibility to have power and control over our children, education, property, inheritance, welfare and marriage. Yet, Humanism strives and has largely succeeded in tranfering these powers and controls over to the state. The division of labour is slowly being distroyed and with it a free and godly society. Without a free and godly society there is no justice, no righteousness.

In order to divide the labour. The institution of the family must be understood and established. Marriage must be understood and established. Marriage is a scarament of the family. Rushdoony points out the scripture that ordains man and woman by marriage as one, the woman from the man and the man from the woman. The rise in man's "rights"over women , as in the 18th century, and woman's "rights" over men, as in the 19th and 20th centuries, are ungodly and irresponsible because they "seek power apart from God and over eachother" . He explains the convenantal or the "giveness" of marriage as being the foundation of a godly family and the romantic, pragmatic, mercenary or the "free choice" of marriage as the foundation of a humanistic family.

The godly family works together to establish God's righteousness, justice, in the labour it has been ordained to do:
rearing children
owning family property (a trust from the Lord)
building inheritances (reserving assets for a godly seed to continue the establishment of God's kingdom on earth)
education
welfare

The godly family is the vehicle for the driving force of God's kingdom on earth, the regeneration of the entire creation.