Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
but
blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction (Proverbs 29:18
NIV).
Where
there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law,
happy is he (KJV).
Tough
love : love or affectionate concern expressed in a stern or
unsentimental manner (as through discipline) especially to promote
responsible behavior (Merriam-Webster's
11th Collegiate Dictionary).
Any
love worth its salt is in a sense tough love. For it is not shallow
and sentimental. I keep thinking of American politics—of the right
and left—and am chagrined that the right has staked claim to tough
love. In my book all real love is tough love—that's why I seldom
use the word “love” alone, preferring instead “disciplines of
love.”
We
need to step back and consider the importance of the disciplines of love
in our society. The Bill of Rights is an example of tough love. It
says, in effect, that all people shall be treated in a loving
fashion—they have inalienable rights. It is the job of government
to secure these rights. But a moment's reflection will suffice to
show that without love's active and pervasive presence in
society no sword of the state however strong could long prevail.
Take laws for the protection of children. Surely if parents en masse
suddenly stopped loving their children, there is no realistic
scenario for the state providing security that would compensate for
this lack of love. Like it or not, it is undeniable that no
government can fill the void left by the widespread absence of love
within the state. The society is then doomed for “Where there is
no revelation, people cast off restraint....” “Where there is no
vision, the people perish....” It must be plainly understood that
the security of any state in the long run rests upon the presence of
love among its people. In this sense, all secure and healthy nations
are fundamentally Christian nations by any other name. Whether we
have “big government” or “small government” matters much,
much less than whether we have a loving people. This is the ultimate
bond holding together any social contract.
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