Judge: Sir, today you are being charged with violating the federal Climate Protection Act. Do you understand the charge?

Defendant: Yes, your Honor.

Judge: I’m not sure you do. I want the prosecutor to inform you of why you are appearing before the court today.

Prosecutor: Your Honor, the defendant has openly and without regard to the Climate Protection Act, violated its statute. There are several offenses listed in the charge. He has continued to drive a combustion engine vehicle after the date of expiration of the grandfather clause that allowed such vehicles to continue being used on our roads. He also purchased beef from a non-sanctioned farm that functions clandestinely in violation of the climate order. He was also observed by our undercover agents at a backyard gathering where each person in attendance willfully operated outside the limitations of an accepted carbon footprint.

Judge: Sir, do you understand the charges against you?

Defendant: Yes, your Honor.

Judge: How do you plead?

Defendant: Proudly guilty, your Honor.  

Judge: I, therefore, find you guilty as listed in the charge. I order that 20 access points be deducted from your social credit score to take effect immediately. Next case.

If you think this fictional portrayal is a bit overstated, it is already in place in China and is being proposed by the WEF (Word Economic Forum) under what is being called “The Great Reset.” The Great Reset is a new “social contract” that controls every element of a person’s life through an electronic ID linked to their bank account and health records. As a result of that accumulated data, people will be issued a social credit score that will dictate and control every facet of their life – what they can purchase, where they can travel, and the kind of lifestyle they can live. 

Coupled with these controls will be a central, digitally controlled currency. It is an electronically monitored currency whose access and availability are based on a person’s compliance with the new social order. At this point, too many pastors reading these words are rolling their eyes along with too many in the Church who continue to live uninformed about the developing realities in the world around them. They continue to live like uniformed sheep walking together toward the slaughter of the very ideals that make up the foundation of human freedom. Compliance at this point is not loving our neighbors as ourselves.

How do these draconian controls of human liberty impact our understanding of Romans 13:1 where Paul wrote, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities.” While it seemed noble and loving when the pandemic first began asking us to comply for the greater good, undeniable evidence has since emerged that the pandemic was not accurately portrayed and was a trial run for greater levels of social control, eventually leading toward an attempt to control the Church. 

Paul’s words about submission to a government were never meant to create a culture of slaves. It was an instruction for us, as far as it is possible with us, to be at peace with all people and our social institutions. That compliance is acceptable as long as it is rational, and not part of an absurd social agenda.

At some point in the future, the fictional courtroom drama I created may become a reality.  These attempts at control will eventually take aim at our relationship with God and His Word, telling us how we should live as disciples of Jesus Christ. How we respond today to the lesser issues of control will determine how we will respond in the future when the state demands we comply with mandates regarding human sexuality, how we live out the truth of Scripture, and how and where we can live as free people.  Such compliance will require a compromise of our faith all for “the greater good” of the state. At that point, our continued compliance would be an abuse of Romans 13 and place us in a place of spiritual jeopardy.