Who is your idol?

Psalm 115 mocks those who worship lifeless gods:

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”

Today, however, many of us bow before a sentient “deity” called Government. 

Unlike other idols, this one will pretend to care about you. He will speak to you and offer to fix all your problems. When you pray to him for assistance, he will gladly respond.

But, unlike the God the psalmist worshipped, this god is not benevolent.

This god is a slavemaster.

Government as god consists of flawed humans who seek to be worshipped and control your life. Of course, they would never say such things out loud; they may not even articulate those views to themselves. But the desire to dethrone God and replace Him with a mortal runs deep in the race. 

Most of us, reared in the tradition of the American Revolution, resent the idea of being controlled. If you asked us if faraway bureaucracies should be permitted to dictate how we live, work, and raise our families, the answer would be no. If decisions should be left as close to home as possible, yes.

And yet, what happens when Government promises to meet our every need? What happens when it vows to take care of us, protect us, and give us other people’s money? Suddenly, our reservations about federal overreach vanish. 

As of March 2025, a staggering 76% of Americans said they worried about the size and power of the federal government either a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” Paradoxically, though, many of those same people would have called Elon Musk an “oligarch” for making the government smaller, slashing wasteful spending, and cutting superfluous jobs. It goes to show that limited government may sound desirable — until, like a shooting star or slot machine, it offers to give us everything we want. 

As the late Rush Limbaugh once observed, “It’s just very difficult to beat Santa Claus.”

A May 2025 survey from CNN found that a majority of voters, despite deteriorating trust in America’s political institutions and deep misgivings about federal control, believe Washington should get more involved in bailing out the country:

“Some people think the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. Others think the government should do more to solve our country’s problems. Which comes closer to your own view?” Of the 2,539 respondents presented with that question, a record-high 58% answered that they wanted the government to do more. 

Americans, in other words, while resentful to be controlled, have fallen for the bait. Government as master, savior, and messiah will never publicize its intent to domineer us; it will lure us in with sweet-sounding promises to be our all-in-all. It offers not a whip but a helping hand up — even as it forges our chains. “In Government We Trust” becomes the motto of a nation that looks not to heaven but to Washington, DC, for its answers; “So help me State” the prayer of a generation that idolizes politics.

Calling an Article V convention to rein in the federal government may sound like a political solution, but, in reality, we’re engaged in a spiritual fight to restore faith in the one true Sovereign of the universe. Just as King Josiah tore down the altars and high places dedicated to idolatry, we seek to shatter the shrines and cathedrals dedicated to statolatry. 

Government is a false shepherd leading us astray. It’s time to break free from the susceptible pack that looks to politicians for sustenance and protection. Go against the grain by signing the COS petition for an Article V convention to propose amendments limiting federal spending, power, and terms of office today.