This was first published as a reply to a comment seen on an article by Donald Jeffries at his Substack. I like Donald Jeffries. He has become, without his knowledge, one of my most-beloved mentors. I have a few others: John Waters, Elizabeth Nickson, Caitlin Johnstone, Edward Curtin, etc., from whom I am learning, not so much about facts and opinions, but how to write lucidly and comprehensively about things that matter. More than anything else, I am learning how to be unafraid in the telling of the truth. If this resonates with you, please leave a comment.
https://donaldjeffries.substack.com/p/the-orwellian-doctors-of-disinformation
I describe politics as the practice of getting what you want by manipulating other people and is always at their expense, to their detriment, which is an adaptation of this quote by Frederic Bastiat–“Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else.”
Most people consider “politics” as having to do with government, law, the State, but most never, ever think about the way that they practice it on a daily basis. For instance, Billy Joel’s waitress in his hit song, Piano Man, made a habit of and living from “…practicing politics as the businessmen (her customers) slowly get stoned.”
Government is only the official recognition that politics is practiced everywhere, at all levels of society, by an overwhelming majority of people, both large and small, who endeavor to get what they want at the expense of everyone else, using every possible means at their disposal. Sometimes they get busted and learn, correcting their ways but, more often than not, they protest that their actions are really only for the benefit of those around them and the good of society. Like supporting the Military-Industrial Complex because it has a factory in their home state or loudly backing the genocidal catastrophes which the “most-favored” nation in the history of the world, Israel, practices on its weaker neighbors.
How do you correct this problem. Quite simple. Vote. Vote harder. Vote more often. Vote until the right people are put into office and all the scheming, conniving, rascally scoundrels are turned out into the street or thrown into a maximum-security prison. Yes, that ought to do it and so many are faithful to the concept, never realizing that voting is an attempt to force others to behave the way that you want them to. Getting what you want at someone else’s expense, to their detriment. Politics.
For those who haven’t already caught on, the paragraph immediately above is sarcastic. The only way to correct the practice of politics is to address the sin within yourself AND to take action to eliminate it from your own life. All of us are guilty. All of us have to change our course. As a succinct example of what I am advocating, I offer another paraphrase from an even greater man than Frederic Bastiat.
“Love your neighbors, don’t kill them.”
Poor Roger's Almanac 
AMEN!
I especially love “Government is only the official recognition that politics is practiced everywhere, at all levels of society, by an overwhelming majority of people, both large and small, who endeavor to get what they want at the expense of everyone else, using every possible means at their disposal.”
Agreed, at least when applied to government of, by, and (allegedly) for the people, which is a description of any and all government not, of, by, and for God expressly established upon His triune moral law (the Ten Commandments and their respective statutes and civil judgments, see, for example, Deuteronomy 6:1), exclusively governed by biblically qualified men of God – such men as depicted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-7 who are a continual blessing to the righteous and perpetual terror to the wicked.
There are a plethora of passages (Exodus 1, Judges 6, Acts 4 & 5, 17:6-7, etc.) that dictate Christians reject any government mandate requiring them to disobey their Lord and King. Romans 13 is not one of them.
Romans 13:1-7 has absolutely nothing to do with secular civil government. Rather everything therein depicts a biblical civil government, making it our commission for dominion over government and society.
The one word “continually” or “devoted” (depending upon your Bible version) in Verse 6 (amplifying Verses 3 & 4) alone proves the point. And it’s just one of ten contextual reasons proving the same thing.
Unless someone’s prepared to claim the Roman Empire (one of the most notorious for murdering Christians) was a government that *continually* blessed Christians and terrorized/punished the wicked, they best rethink their theology regarding this extremely important passage of Scripture.
See free online book “The Romans 13 Template for Biblical Dominion: Ten Reasons Why Romans 13 is Not About Secular Government” at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/Romans13/Romans13-contents.html
Agreed, so long as government is not used by some people to rule over others. I do not care whether the source is from the Old Testament, Timbuktu, or The Shining City on the Hill in Washington, D.C. If it attempts to control everyone else through the use of violent force for the sake of political expediency, convenience, and gain, or any particular religious or philosophical viewpoint, then I am against it.
I recognize only two legitimate governments: the literal rule of Jesus the Christ in Heaven and personal self-control under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit on Earth. I back only two laws, which combine and contain the entirety of the law and the prophets.
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and,
2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
More than this is politics.
Hi Roger!
Thanks for responding!
The righteous do not need ruled, except by Christ as their Lord and King. But there will always be murderers, rapists, and thieves in society. This is where the altogether righteous civil judgments (Psalm 19:7-9, etc.) must come into play, otherwise we just continue to be ruled by thugs and criminals, whether those holding public office or those just running lose in society:
“But if we are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18)
“But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but [the civil judgments in particular] for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.” (1 Timothy 1:8-11)
And, don’t forget, all the law (the Ten Commandments and their respective statutes and judgments, foundational to all the Covenants) hang upon the two greatest commandments you cited, per Matthew 22:40.
For more regarding Yahweh’s altogether righteous judgments, see Chapter 14 “Amendment 5: Constitutional vs. Biblical Judicial Protection” at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/blvc-index.html
Then Chapter 17 “Amendment 8: Bail, Fines, and Cruel and Unusual Punishments.”