I’ve heard a story of a grandfather who gave his granddaughter an old, dusty car that had been in his barn for years. She was appreciative but didn’t really need a car, and she certainly wasn’t interested in the work of trying to restore the car, so she thought she would sell it. Someone took a very quick look at it and told her it was old, outdated, and ugly. He offered to take it off her hands for $500. However, when she mentioned the offer to her grandfather, he recommended she first have it appraised. Appraised? It had been in the barn as long as she could remember – was it really anything worth even spending money for an appraisal? After some thought, she took her grandfather’s advice and had the car appraised. It was an extremely rare model and even in its current condition, was worth well over $250,000! She was floored. She had no idea! She returned to her grandfather and thanked him profusely for the enormous gift.
We are being lied to
In today’s world, we are being told lies about our Constitution every day. There are so many all around us who tell us our Constitution is old, ugly, and outdated – just like the young lady’s car in our story above. Our Constitution has been under attack and is in need of some work to preserve or restore it. People speak of our Constitution as if we need to just throw it out and get something newer, as if it is old and broken down and in hopelessly poor condition. The people who tell us these things are like the crook who offered to buy the young lady’s car for $500. Upon closer examination, like the car in the story, we find out it is worth far more than we ever imagined.
Principles of Limited Government
Our Constitution is based upon the ideas found in our Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, and we have been endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. No other government in history was built upon these great principles. These principles recognized that rights come from God and the people delegate specific powers – and nothing more – to government. This idea was developed and grew in the hearts of Godly men over the centuries. If you have never seen it, we recommend you watch a video by KrisAnne Hall called Genealogy of the Constitution. She does a great job of teaching the history of events for hundreds of years that led up to our nation’s Constitution in 1787. Watching Mrs. Hall’s video is a great way to celebrate Constitution Day.
The truths of the principles of limited government are great truths, and they are key to being a free people. These truths have been suppressed in recent years by those who hate limited government and would rather make the United States like other countries. However, we were never made to be like other countries. We were made to be exceptional – and that’s what we have been. It was never the plan to make us like the rest of the world. Thomas Jefferson had this to say about comparing our form of government with those in Europe,
“The comparisons of our governments with those of Europe are like a comparison of heaven and hell.”
– Thomas Jefferson
Power of the Government Limited to the Enumerated Powers
One of the principles I believe is critically important is the idea of enumerated powers. We discuss this in depth in other articles like What are “Enumerated Powers”?, and in fact, we have an entire category with several articles that discuss this idea. This idea is covered in those articles, but for our purposes here I will just say that under other forms of government, the government can involve itself in any area. In our American form of limited government, we limit government jurisdiction to only those areas specifically delegated. In other words, if government is going to do something, there needs to be specific authorization for it in the Constitution. They can only do the items specifically listed. Our current President speaks much about Congress “codifying” unconstitutional principles into law. But all of our government – even Congress – is limited to the enumerated powers listed in the Constitution.
Write it Down
Think of it like this… open the Constitution to Article 1, Section1. Before you start reading, read it from the perspective that the government has no power whatsoever. When you get to Article 1, Section 8, you will get to a short list of things where Congress may act. Jot those down as you go. Keep going through the other articles, jot down things mentioned that Congress may do. Then make a new list for the Executive Branch – list only the things they are specifically authorized to do. Then do the same with the Judicial Branch. When you complete this process with all 7 Articles of the Constitution plus the 27 Amendments, for each of the 3 branches, you will have a complete list of areas where government may legitimately act. Anything else is off limits. By the way, as you complete this process, you will also find specific prohibitions where government may not legislate. Those are important limitations to note as well.
Avoid the Lie
Oftentimes, the media, and even those in office, will pretend that there is no limit to government power and they may do anything they can get the votes in Congress to pass. This type of thinking leads us into all kinds of unconstitutional things. Our government is designed to be limited. They can do nothing without specific authorization in the Constitution. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution says it like this, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Constitutional Rights of the People?
In beautiful contrast to the powers of government being strictly limited to the enumerated powers as found in the Constitution, the rights of the people are quite the opposite. The founders wanted it to be very clear that the people have many rights and those rights do not have to be specifically listed in the Constitution to be valid and held by the people. We often talk about our “Constitutional rights”, or maybe we choose specific rights, especially those protected by a specific amendment, and mention, for example, our “First Amendment rights”, or “Second Amendment rights”. The rights protected in the amendments certainly are our rights, and so it is fine for us to reference them as such, but, it is VERY important for us to understand that those rights are not granted to us by the Constitution, or those amendments. Our rights come to us from God, and the purpose of government is to secure and protect those rights. So, the purpose of the Bill of Rights, for example, is not to grant rights to Americans, but to specifically limit government from infringing upon rights already given to the people by God. Therefore, something does not have to be listed in the Constitution to be a legitimate right. The Ninth Amendment to the Constitution puts it this way, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
God given rights
So, if we did the same “write it down” exercise we did with government powers, we would not start with a blank page – we would start with a page filled with lots and lots of rights that God gives to people. They do not have to be specifically listed to be valid. Our rights come to us from God and the purpose of government is to secure, or protect, those rights, as described in our Declaration of Independence.
Difference in Government Powers vs People’s Rights
Many times, we tend to think that government may do anything they want unless the Constitution specifically says they can’t. In fact, many times, we pretend government can do things even though they are specifically prohibited from doing them in the Constitution (for example the Second Amendment). At the same time, we tend to think that in order for the people to have a specific right, it has to be listed specifically in the Constitution. Our Founders designed this to be exactly the opposite! Government powers are limited specifically to what is found in the Constitution. The rights of the people are not. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments clearly illustrate that beautiful contrast.
Celebrate the Constitution
In honor of the Constitution, let’s take this dusty old car out of the barn. Let’s do the research and once again see the incredible beauty and priceless value we have been given with our Constitution. Let us not listen to the evil advice of those who say our Constitution is old or broken beyond repair. Limited government is worth far more than even an expensive automobile. It is a rare jewel that must be kept, preserved and polished. We need to remember that government powers are specific to those listed in the Constitution, and the rights of the people are not. Don’t allow those who hate us to reverse those ideas! Let us also thank God for the gift we have been given and ask Him what He would have us to do to be a faithful steward of the citizenship He has blessed us with.
Jason and RaShell your article is a gem. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciate the effort and time you took to elaborate exquisitely the main points. Anyone taking the Constitutional Courses with you should be thankful for the energy, thought, and time that you share during the weeks of learning the truth about our Constitution’s content. May God bless your work and the United States of America. With found memories, Glenn.
Glenn, thank you so much for your comment! We loved having you in class as well! But they don’t have to be just fond memories – we have a Biblical Citizenship class starting next week. 🙂 Would love to have you in class again sometime soon. Take care, thank you for reading the article and thank you again for your comment!
This article says it all! Second to our Christian Bible, the Constitution (with the Bill of Rights) and the Declaration of Independence are the most valuable things ‘we the people’ of the United States have. Thank you RaShell & Jason for everything you do! I praise God for you and your family.
Thank you for your kind words! We enjoy what we are doing! Yes, what an incredible foundation was given to us in the founding documents of our nation. We can’t just let it all be stolen. Thank you for your comment!
Reminds me of the first car my daughter “owned”. I had fixed it up for her from parts I bought from auto salvage. It was white with a red interior and a blue front fender. She didn’t want to be seen in it! I told her that her mother was’t driving her to school any more. She could walk, ride her bike, hitchhike, or call a cab. She drove it to school and her friends went crazy over it … that evening after school she was polishing the thing!
Our Constitution may be old, but it’s a classic and we need to spend time with it, pouring a little love into it!
Great illustration! Amen, may we pour into our beautiful and valuable Constitution! Thank you for the comment!
Yet another excellent blog post!
Rarely does a day go by that we don’t read of or watch a TV report of the post-constitutional creep coming out of our nations capital or from one of our duly elected representatives, or perhaps more appropriately referred to as professional politicians. As politicians they have created their own predictable methods of placing the desires of individuals and organizations who fund their political future over the fulfillment of their oath of office to protect the US Constitution. Yet We the People ardently continue to re-elect them, essentially reinforcing their corrupt behavior and giving up our freedoms and inalienable rights inch by inch.
Your Constitution Alive course is an incredible learning experience, and one that has become the impetus of a personal commitment to study our Constitution more closely, speak up more confidently in public and private about our freedoms and the moral requirement we should all feel to ardently protect them under all circumstances.
Isaiah chapter 12, verses 12-14 (NASB) perhaps more aptly describes where we seem to find ourselves in this hour with respect to our country:
12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the arrogant pride of his eyes.”
13 For he has said, ““By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
Because I have understanding;
And I removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down their inhabitants,
14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest,
And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;
And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.”
We all must begin “flapping our wings, opening our beaks, and begin chirping loudly” in the protection of the unalienable rights that come from God, before the evil one tips the scales beyond the point of recovery as our elected representatives conspire to empty our “nest” of the eggs of our god given freedoms! For if we do not, then we have nothing to look forward to other when “God lets loose the enemies of his church and people, and suffers them for a time to prevail, it is in order to the performing of some great good work upon them; and, when that is done, then, and not till then, he will work deliverance for them.” – Matthew Henry
Thank you for your comment! I love the passage in Isaiah and I agree it does seem to describe our country today. May we all learn to chirp loudly at the removal of our rights, and even the foundations of society. If We the People would learn the Constitution, and refuse to re-elect those who do not follow their oath to support it, well, I think that would be a great first step to making things better. I am happy to be a part of that effort! Thank you so much for your participation in class and for the comment here! Thank you!
RaShell and Jason,
I am disturbed at how little I know about our Constitution, but also excited to be learning now in this course! In truth, until several years back, I wasn’t too interested in the workings of our Government or how fragile our God-given rights were in the face of haters of liberty.
This threat that America faces couldn’t happen, or so I thought.
The general apathy among ‘We the People’ (myself included) enabled corruption and graft to enter and “rework” the meaning of where the true power in the Constitution lies.
Also, I believe removing God from our schools, laid the groundwork for changing our beliefs that Government is ultimate power.
We desperately need God back in our hearts and our lives, this would end much of the chaos that is happening today!
P.S. We need to be ever diligent, to ensure our representatives represent us!
Blessings,
Diane Hill
Thank you so much for your sincere comment. Many students have told us they didn’t know anything about the Constitution. I don’t believe it to be a coincidence – I believe it has been intentionally removed from our schools. So, all of us need the knowledge now. That’s why RaShell and I love to be a small part in spreading the word to as many Americans as we can reach. We have to learn these things again and then hold those in office accountable to the oath they took when they accepted public office. Thank you again!
Jason I agree with you 100%. And from taking the courses that you and RaShell teach. I’ve learned a lot. And I’m seeing that our sorry to today’s government is not and in some cases abusing it power. And I’ve really been noticing it over the last 10 years when Obama became President. Also I’ve been seeing that a lot of the policies that the democrats keep pushing do not follow what our Founder’s wanted or thought would be good for the nation. And that these policies are more in line with these days socialism or communism. The very things that our Founder’s did not want. Also I these days keep hearing the democrats claiming that our DEMOCRACY is being destroyed. When nis fact our country was founded as a Constitutional Republic. And it even says so in the Constitution. Yet the democrats just don’t seem to know this fact. I feel that our Constitution should be taught in our schools these days like it was back up until around 2000. Now days in our schools they like to teach a false history of America. And how bad the country is. And all of the bad things that it did in its history. But refuse to teach all of the good things that has and is doing today.
Yes sir – there are many lies being taught in schools today. Much of it is related to Critical Race Theory. I wrote an article on that subject called Why are you Suppressing the Truth? Often times, unfortunately, it is both political parties that are guilty of pushing things through unconstitutionally. As a result, often times, one party is rushing towards our national destruction, and the other party is going the same place – just slower. The more we learn together, and the more we hold our officials accountable (which I know you are doing as well!), the closer we are to winning this thing. Thank you for your comment!