I’m a “no regulations” kind of a guy. I tend to think of organizations like the EPA, DER, OSHA, etc. as uninvited governmental intrusions on the lives of hard-working people. However, the other day I started to think about the many underhanded things people have done that has affected myself or others I know: contractors that cut corners but charged full price, companies that leveraged away benefits from their workers, workers that have cheated their employers, people willing to sell dubious or even harmful products just to make a buck … I’d hate to find out that my house is built on top of an old toxic waste dump.
The truth is that laws, regulations, enforcement, & penalties are necessary because of the wickedness of the human heart. Someone had to start a campaign before most people stopped throwing their trash out their car window. Someone had to get the government to look at how filthy our air & water was becoming because polluters were not going to make changes for the good of the environment on their own. Large industrialists were not concerned about the safety of their workers until they were held accountable. Now I’m not suggesting we need more regulations or even that the ones we have are balanced, logical, or fair. What I’m driving at today is that we tend to think of ourselves as good, honest folks who usually (if not always) choose to do the right thing. History proves that theory wrong. History proves the need for armies, police, courts, jails, fines … We are sick, we are wicked, we need forgiveness, we need instruction, guidance, & counsel.
Our nation needs a good, solid, firm foundation on which to build safeguards for everyone. Here’s one: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, & training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All other ground is sinking sand.