“I look at my job in a number of different ways. Sometimes I think God loaned me a hat that says United States Congress. My job is to think how many innovative ways can I find to use my hat today,” Congressman Akin expressed about his governmental role.
“Our lives in Congress are not too much different than anybody else’s. We have just a certain number of people that we talk to, circulate around, and do things. We don’t have much power. Because there are four hundred and thirty-five of us, it’s difficult to get an agreement. Unless there’s a pretty good consensus, many things just don’t happen.”
“Part of wearing my hat means I must take other ways of looking at my job. After graduating from engineering school, I began selling computers for IBM. Now God has called me to sell something else the principles of Scripture that make people free and prosperous. I look for opportunities to sell his ideas.”
Akin spoke to 250 international students who were visiting Washington, D.C. to study American government in the spring of 2008. They were curious.
“What type of government do we have in America and how was it founded?” Akin relayed. He asked them where the idea of separation of church and state came from. They weren’t sure. “The founders got the idea from the Bible.”
He explained the influence of a 1580s-era Scotch theologian, who saw a pattern in the Old Testament of separating civil government from church government. Adopting this idea, the Pilgrims founded America based on the new principle of separating these two governments.
“The Supreme Court has incorrectly understood the First Amendment. It was never the founders’ intent to take God out of civil government, because we believe God is the source of all human rights. How can you take God out of government if you believe he is the source of inalienable rights?” Akin asked.
Akin sees his role as explaining the founding principles of our nation to others. He feels that that’s part of his job to sell God’s ideas.
“I have no power of enforcement. But I have the power to persuade, and that’s how I look at it.”
Regardless of what hat you wear or what skills you possess, God is the source of your inalienable rights, a reason to celebrate life and share your freedom with others.
Thank you for the founding principles of our nation and those who came to the United States to establish a new nation built on the idea that you designed both civil and church government.
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1–2)