NO More Kings
A just and legitimate government understands the sacred nature of free will. Free will is not a fringe idea—it is the cornerstone of human dignity. It’s the simple truth that God does not desire automatons or slaves, but men and women who freely choose to know Him, love Him, and serve Him. Any system of government that interferes with this positive relationship between man and his Creator is illegitimate. When a government tries to replace conscience with compulsion, or morality with mandates, it violates the very design of our humanity. This is why understanding why God created us is not just a religious question—it’s a political one too.
“God made us to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” — Baltimore Catechism, Lesson 1
This one sentence contains the entire mission of human life. Everything we do—our decisions, our relationships, our work, and yes, even our politics—should be oriented toward that purpose.
The core purpose of this life can be summed up in four points:
- To know God — through faith and reason
- To love God — through obedience and devotio
- To serve God — by fulfilling our duties and moral responsibilities
- To enjoy eternal happiness with Him in Heaven
This is also why America remains such a remarkable nation—because its founding structure respects the space necessary to fulfill this purpose. It does not demand allegiance to a state religion, nor does it force anyone to reject their beliefs. It creates the conditions where freedom and faith can coexist, where worship can be voluntary, and where each soul is free to seek God—or not—according to the dictates of conscience
The fact that we have lost this primary purpose is why God is not allowing our land to heal and to be overtaken by the man of sin, or perhaps our desires for freedom are no more than the selfish rantings of a child, and it is difficult to imagine God blessing this. (A teenager smoking dope in his mom’s basement complaining about having to take out the trash is not a freedom fighter.) Liberty comes with responsibility. It is also disturbing to see some will forsake basic human goodness to achieve what they believe is the need for freedom. They forget that morality is more important than freedom. And as Robert Welch said, “the means are as important as the end.” In a conversation I had with someone, “I said I believed selfish motives for freedom outside of a desire to love and serve God will result in nothing.” I was thinking of the Book of Judith,
The story goes like this, Holofernes is preparing to invade the land of Israel as part of Assyrian expansion. He questions whether the Israelites can be conquered easily. Achior, who is familiar with the history and religion of the Jews, responds by giving a truthful account of how Israel’s strength comes from their faithfulness to God. Judith 5:24–25): “Now therefore, my lord, search if there be any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God: let us go up to them, because their God will surely deliver them to thee, and they shall be brought under the yoke of thy power. But if there be no offense of this people in the sight of their God, we cannot resist them, because their God will defend them: and we shall be a reproach to the whole earth.”
Achior warns Holofernes that the Israelites cannot be defeated if they are faithful to their God. But if they have sinned or broken their covenant, then they are vulnerable. It’s a profound moment where a non-Israelite recognizes the divine protection over Israel when they are righteous.
Today, many Americans find themselves discouraged. We see the erosion of liberty, the advance of collectivism, and a population that sometimes seems ready to trade freedom for comfort. We hear the logic of surrender in new forms: “Just comply so you can keep your job.” “Just stay silent—it’s not worth the fight.” “Just go along with the program and things will get back to normal.”
In Judith 7:30–32, the people cry out to their leaders, begging them to make peace with Holofernes. Ozias, the town leader, agrees to hold out for five more days, and if God doesn’t deliver them, they will surrender. Judith 7:31“We will call upon our God, and he will deliver us. But if it shall please him that we perish, we will give ourselves up.” The people of Bethulia were about to consent to foreign rule, ready to surrender not just their city, but their freedom.
But one Woman Refuses to Bow
It is in this moment that Judith, a devout widow known for her wisdom and virtue, stands up. She rebukes the town leaders, reminding them that testing God on a timetable is not faith. She insists that God is not bound by deadlines, and that surrender is not the answer. “Do not bind the counsels of the Lord our God. God is not man, that he may be threatened.” —Judith 8:16 Rather than wait for someone else to act, Judith takes responsibility. She dresses in her finest clothing, walks into the enemy camp, and defeats the enemy not with force, but with courage and cunning. Her assassination of Holofernes turns the tide, inspires the people, and results in a Jewish military victory.
A friend asked ( and I hope I get the exact words) , “Why does God seem to be giving prosperity to the Democrats and why are we losing so much ground?” I said , “because, they are like the young man in the Book of Psalms. ”With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks…Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.” Proverbs 7:21–23
That is to say the world is on its way to slavery and death. The Gospel of Christ is the Path of Salvation. We should think of that when we are gossiping about each other and tearing one another apart over minor and inconsequential ideas. I hear it every day, in the freedom movement, but Robert Welch was correct when he said ‘we don’t tackle people in our backfield”
The Declaration of Independence says all men are “created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Those words aren’t just historic—they reflect a belief that our rights come from God, and that human beings are responsible for choosing how they live.
This belief—that each person is a moral agent—was essential to the Founding Fathers, and it’s echoed in the teachings of Pope Leo XIII, One of the greatest men the Christian world has ever known. . When we understand that liberty is rooted in free will, we can also understand why collectivism—in all its forms—is incompatible with both American and Christian ideas of freedom.
Free Will and Responsibility
In his encyclical Libertas (1888), Pope Leo XIII writes:
“Man, indeed, is free by his very nature, but he is free to do right, not wrong.”
This kind of freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want. It’s about having the moral capacity to choose what is good—and to be accountable for it. That’s exactly the kind of freedom the Founders built our political system around. Government, they said, should protect the natural rights we already have—not invent them.
What Natural Law Teaches
Pope Leo XIII and St. Thomas Aquinas taught that real law reflects eternal truth, not just human preference. True law comes from God and is written on the heart of man.
“The highest law comes from God.” – Libertas
When Jefferson spoke of “Nature’s God” and “self-evident truths,” he was drawing from this same tradition. The Founders believed that liberty and rights were part of our created nature—not something to be issued or revoked by the state.
Giving Should Be Free, Too
Free will doesn’t just apply to speech or worship—it also applies to charity.
In Rerum Novarum (1891), Pope Leo XIII cautioned against state-run compassion:
“To force [resources] from him under the name of charity is unjust.”
True charity must be voluntary. The state may collect taxes, but it should not take over moral responsibility. Giving is only meaningful if it’s freely chosen.
That’s why the American system protects property rights—not just to promote prosperity, but to protect personal freedom.
Why Collectivism Falls Short
Collectivist systems—socialism, statism, technocracy—tend to deny that the individual is capable of moral judgment. They replace free will with centralized control.
“The State may not absorb the individual or the family.” – Rerum Novarum
That’s a warning from Pope Leo XIII that’s worth hearing again today.
The American Founders also believed the individual conscience is sacred. That’s why they created limits on government—to protect each person’s moral space.
Both Pope Leo XIII and the American Founders point us to the same truth: Freedom doesn’t come from government. It’s built into our nature. And a healthy society protects that freedom—not by forcing people to do what’s right, but by trusting them to do it.
Final Thought:
A free society isn’t possible without free people—people who can act on conscience, serve others, and live responsibly.
References:
- Declaration of Independence (1776)
- Pope Leo XIII, Libertas (1888), Rerum Novarum (1891)
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
- U.S. Constitution, Preamble and Bill of Rights
Authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers. Submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com
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