day no. 16,128: we worship the highest authority that we recognize

“Once abolish the God and the government becomes the God.” - G.K. Chesterton

John 19:10-11

So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

If we imagine the State as the most authoritative agency in the world, we will look to the State to save us, provide for us, protect us, and be there for us. But if there is a God, we look to Him for those things and leave the State to serve Him by serving us in the limited capacities He has assigned to it. We do not honor the State when we assign to it agency that only God possesses. We do not honor Christ by honoring the State as our Lord Protector.

Whenever we break the first commandment, we necessarily break the second. In other words, the throne is inescapable, a matter of which? not if? What will sit on the throne? Not if there is one. If we refuse to acknowledge God, the throne does not remain vacant. Something takes His place. An idol of our creation in place of the Creator. That said, we cannot forcibly remove Christ from His throne anymore than a lunatic can blot out the sun by tattooing the word "darkness" on his eyelids. But that point remains. Something will hold sway. Something will reign. The God-hater cannot usurp the throne. He will be ruled by something. He can pretend that the one, true God is not real, but he cannot live like there is no god. He can refuse to worship God, but he cannot refuse to worship.

Romans 1:21-25

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.