“Texas law now will be your strength and your sword and your shield.”*
“When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us..” Exodus 32:1
It’s a familiar scene for most Christians. Unfortunately, the reality of it is lost to 1960 cinema history, with European actors, poor wardrobe and soundstages. Recently, however, we have a direct example from the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott. Much like the Israelites of Exodus, the visible church has applauded and danced to the recent remarks from Abbott on a recent bill concerning churches and free speech.
“Texas law now will be your strength and your sword and your shield.”*
Sound familiar? It’s been taken directly from Psalm 28:7
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”
A quick diagramming of the sentences shows the implication of Abbott into the hearts of the church.
“Texas is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Texas, and Texas helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Texas.”
Not to pick on the Lone Star State, because this is not unusual, and not exclusive to any state, or country. It has unfortunately been a practice for quite some time in the United States.
What might even be more offensive, is that not only do we have the replacement of the State as God, but we even have a sneaky stowaway of statist intentions in “your sword.” State sponsored aggression at the behest of the church has proven over and again to subvert Christ’s message of Love.
Do Christians need the State as “their sword?” What is the State Sword doing? Fighting on their behalf? Cutting the church’s enemies? Without diving into the nuances of “loving your enemy”, in the Garden of Gethsemane we see a clear picture of Christ’s teachings on the use of the sword to attack the enemies of God. “Those who live by the sword die by the sword,” Jesus scolded His disciple, after giving Him the command, “Put your sword back into its place.”
For the Christian; if you do see the State as your sword, do as Christ commands, and put it back into its place.
______________________________
*https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/21/abbott-signs-bill-protecting-sermons-subpoenas/
_____________________________
Find it on 
