Family cannot be first, and God cannot be your co-pilot

Recall my post on Matthew 10, which states that if you have to choose between God and your family, you choose God. Thus, while Joe Carter certainly did not intend for us to place family before God, the name "family-first conservatism" is unfortunate.

To truly understand what a conservative believes, it is often more instructive to simply ask what it is they want to conserve. My own answer to that question would be the same as that of Russell Kirk: The institution most essential to conserve is the family.

I believe that while ultimate sovereignty belongs to God alone, He delegates authority throughout society to various institutional structures (i.e., churches, businesses, the state, etc.). Naturally, these institutions are not immune to the effects of sin or human depravity but they still retain the legitimate authority given to them by our Creator. Although each of these institutions is important, the most essential is the family.

Meanwhile, you can tear apart the pilot ego and discover some nasty things. Take the phrase "God is my co-pilot" (Robert Scott) - please.

Consider the license plate, “God is my Co-Pilot”. Who is in charge? Who is getting the glory? Do you see how subtle our enemy works? Even in such a simple thing that appears at first glance to honor God, there is a hidden message that works against the gospel this dying world so desperately needs. If God is our co-pilot, we are in serious trouble. Yet, perhaps half of Christendom believes this way. It is our manner of speech. It is how we allow ourselves to talk among ourselves and, therefore, it is how we think and appear to the world around us. If I were a lost person seeking to fellowship with someone who knew how to get safely from this place of trouble to a better place of peace, I’d choose as my friend a man or woman who said, “God is in control,” not one who claimed God is his helper or his sidekick.

Sidekick? That's scary. Sounds like a bad UPN sitcom. And of course, the main character would have a wonderful family (of course, if James Cameron produced the show, so would the sidekick).

conservative godismycopilot

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