In early America, society governed itself for itself. There was a great absence of government. The real government of the US was “private association.” What were these private associations? They were tithe agencies which were created by people to deal with a variety of problems. They were formed by the people for any problem that appealed to them. There were literally thousands of them. There was a religious society for everything: To distribute Bibles, take care of orphans, convert sailors, convert prostitutes, to teach, etc… There was something to take care of everything under the sun.

In 1795 Salem Massachusetts had 2,500 people. In 1845 the population rose to 45,000. It went from a small puritan village to a large city, yet it never changed. How did they keep it the same with all the new people? They were organizing special Schools to teach them to prepare them for American life. They taught English to the immigrants, taught women practical things for homes, churches, evangelization etc… What Christians did was to meet every need possible. There were in each area men and women who were dedicated to particular causes. This took time and money.

This established a voluntary principle regarding solving problems. The Red Cross started in Switzerland, but it really took off in the US. When Grover Cleveland was President, there was a great disaster in a part of this country that caused great destruction. Congress wanted to pass a law to help using Federal funds. But Cleveland said no! And commented that it would be a sad day if the people did not take care of themselves.

The missionary movement in the 1800’s is one of the most remarkable things in the world. It created more schools, and did more to educate people all over the world than people realize. We developed a great respect all over the world which we have abused by becoming involved in world politics. We had a reputation as the hope of the world ready to help others in time of need, and at the same time doing so much in our own borders. Thus the real government in the US was not what we think of as government. When you used the word “government” in the colonial era they thought of:

Each area governed society itself for itself. It is when society ceases to govern itself that the State takes over. Christians were creating in connection with the church all kinds of voluntary associations. This is why the tithe/Christian giving is so important. It helps create agencies to meet the needs and take over the basic government of society. If it is not provided by people voluntarily the state will take over.

When a State organization uses tax money, it is far removed from the citizens who finance it and will grow corrupt. In a voluntary organization, if it is corrupt, the people will stop financing it. But with the state, it can escape accountability and still collect the money.

There are two methods of diminishing the source of authority in a nation: To weaken the supreme power in it’s very principle by forbidding or preventing society from acting in its own defense under certain circumstance.

Americans had a responsibility in early America, and they worked hard to perform this duty. But when we allowed the state to take over, it relieved us of our responsibility and now we can be free to live a sinful life. But we are to be governed by God, and we need to get back to our responsibility.