INSIDE: Our founders began our nation’s government with a statement of the purpose and scope of government that was unanimously signed by all the stakeholders.  We don’t have to wonder whether something is a right.  Rights are rights if, and only if, they are consistent with God’s Word.  

“You need a project charter document.”  The young man was new to Project Management, and he was excited to get started on this new project.  He didn’t understand why his boss would require him to spend time right now to create a document which seemed so mundane and pointless.  His boss continued, “If you have a project charter document, then from the beginning, everyone will agree on the purpose and ground rules of the project, and the stakeholders will understand the required involvement from their personnel.”  The young man nodded…  it was making more sense…  “Later, if there are any questions about who is doing what, and for what reason, the charter document is there – signed by everyone involved – that clearly shows we’re doing the things we said we were going to do.”  The young man was receiving good advice that day…  We can take similar comfort in a document that is effectively the charter of all government entities in our nation. 

The Charter for Government

When it comes to the institution of government in this country, the Declaration of Independence is the charter document.  It serves the same purpose as the project charter that our fictional boss explained to his new project manager.  It clearly states the purpose of government in this nation when it says: 

“That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

– United States Declaration of Independence

The clearly stated purpose of government in this nation is to secure the unalienable rights endowed upon each of us by God Himself.  Understanding this to be the reason governments are instituted will help us to stay focused on the correct purpose of government – the correct, agreed upon purpose that our representatives unanimously signed – and hold our officials accountable to it.  We will likely find the legitimate purpose of government to be quite different than the campaign speeches made by candidates for office – and we should hold them to the correct limits of the charter! 

Which Rights?

We talked about unalienable rights a little in the previous article in this series, called No Proof Truth.  Unalienable rights are rights given by God.  The Declaration had earlier mentioned “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”, but clarified these were “among” our rights, and this was not meant to be a complete list.  However, if we take an honest look at this language, we have to see the rights we have are given by God…  they are not given by government…  they are not given by public opinion.  Therefore, they don’t change over time. 

Pretended “Rights”

If I could make up my own rights, I might allow my own sinful nature to cloud the truth about rights.  I might say I have a “right” to own something that belongs to you… but I can’t do that, because rights come from God, and God’s Word forbids me from stealing.  Therefore, this CANNOT be a right.  If I could make up my rights, I might label particular sins I struggle with as “rights”, to protect my ability to always be able to do them – or to help my feelings of guilt for having done them in the past.  But remember, rights don’t come from me – or any person.  I might be tempted to gain influence and get a government body somewhere to “pass” them or declare them to be “rights”.  But remember, rights also don’t come from government.  No elected official has jurisdiction to come up with new “God-given” rights.  I might pretend that since this year is 2026, that “rights” have evolved in the 250 years since 1776 when this charter was penned.  But, rights also don’t come from public opinion.  No matter how many of us believe something might be OK in this modern age, no amount of public opinion changes God-given rights. 

God-given Rights

No, God Himself chooses what God-given rights there are.  They are the rights He chooses to give – no human gets to decide.  Therefore, we can know that pretended “rights” contrary to God’s Word ARE NOT rights.  From my example above, I can have no God-given right to something you own.  That is theft and therefore is inconsistent with God’s Law.  The same God doesn’t say, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15), and then give me a “right” to take things from you.  It doesn’t work that way.  Unalienable, God-given, rights must be consistent with God’s Word or they aren’t God-given and are therefore not rights at all.  If more of us understood this key principle of the Declaration of Independence, we could greatly simplify discussion about “rights” that some people suppose to exist.   

Which Government? 

Note also this line from the Declaration doesn’t specify which level of government is being discussed.  In fact, the language of the section is discussing the idea of establishing government in general, and is not specific to this nation, or any particular government institution.  We see this from the fact that it uses the word “governments” (plural), and continues, “are instituted among men” (not any particular group of men – but among people in general).  Admittedly, it is an American document, so you may have difficulty using it in other countries.  But within the United States, this principle would apply to all levels of government.  So, whether you are speaking with your United States Representative, or speaking about a bill in a Legislative Committee in your State government, or even at your local County Commissioners Court, or City Council…  all of these levels of government are instituted to secure unalienable rights given to us by God!  The people who fill these positions of responsibility often need to be reminded of this fact from their charter!   

Conclusion

Just as our fictional new project management employee will benefit from beginning his project with signed agreement on the parameters and scope of the project he is starting up, in similar manner, our founders began our nation’s government with a statement of the purpose and scope of government that was unanimously signed by all the stakeholders.  We don’t have to wonder about the purpose of our government – it is given to us in the charter. We don’t have to wonder whether something is a right.  Rights are rights if, and only if, they are consistent with God’s Word.  This is true simply because God is the giver of rights, and therefore they MUST be consistent with His Word, or they aren’t rights at all.  We must understand this truth and hold our officials accountable to these truths.  They are key principles included in the Declaration of Independence – the charter for government for our wonderful nation.