Sovereignty
I was recently informed by a government official of a sovereign nation, that they are unable to “interfere in the judicial affairs of another sovereign nation”. This was in response to my petition to obtain the release of a person who was being unjustly detained by the second sovereign nation. While I suspect that is true in principle, I can’t help thinking that it was a convenient excuse. Apparently rescuing an individual from a 3rd world prison apparently can be diplomatically dicy. So we end up playing bureaucratic games while this person continues to suffer. While we wait for government bureaucrats to do bureaucraty things let’s talk sovereignty. What is it? And who actually has it?
What is Sovereignty?
The definition of sovereignty according to Grok 3 (who has recently become the supreme authority on all things internet in my world) is:
“The Supreme authority within a territory, enabling a state to govern itself independently, make laws, and control its affairs without external interference.”
In this case it apparently includes a dictator’s right to incarcerate an individual from another sovereign state purely for material and possibly political reasons. There apparently are places in this world were corruption knows no bounds. So sovereignty in these situations is translated to mean the absolute power of a dictator to do as he pleases with the people he rules over. In other places it is the power of the wealthy elites to use their wealth to manipulate dictators to do their bidding. Thankfully there are still a few places in this world where it is the rule of law is applied by honest judges. When the law is applied according to an agreed upon set of principles justice has a better chance of being delivered. This tends to happen more often in democratically run societies, but is not guaranteed.
Authority vs Sovereignty
There is still a nagging question however, that begs to be answered. Who is it that really has the final authority? When Russia invades Ukraine, is Russia exercising it’s own sovereignty? Or is Russia violating the sovereignty of Ukraine? In the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Who really owns that land? Perhaps the native Americans were closer to the truth than we care to admit. They laughed at the concept of “owning” land because they believed all land belonged to the Great Spirit. I believe there is a sense in which they were right in that assessment?
What if we were to consider the archaic idea that God created all that we know in this universe of ours. Would that not make God the ultimate owner and arbiter of all things? That would make us at best stewards of a small portion of his creation which he entrusts to us to manage for him. Or, at worst, rebels attempting to occupy land and goods we wish to expropriate from him. Either way, the sovereignty we believe we exercise, is given to us by the God who created us and can at any time be taken from us by him.
If God is Sovereign…
Let me take that one step further. If in fact, God is truly sovereign, then everything that happens in this world is under His control. So from the most massive volcanic explosion, to the most seemingly insignificant insect being eaten by a gecko, it is all in some way ordained, or at very least permitted, by God. The next question then becomes: If I were to choose to truly accept the sovereignty of God over all things to be true, how would it change my world view?
Well now that was a well written blog. Sovereignty of God. I agree with the Indians thinking that God’s owns everything. But who does He give possession to. In a country like Haiti or the country with the dictator you talk about, full of witchcraft, idolatry, and corruption, Who has God given possession to❓ I think you have touched a subject which has been discussed for centuries. To be able to accept God as Sovereign means a change of thinking. But how can one accept everything that happens as God’s sovereignty? I think the answer to your final question is yes it has to. 💡😊🙏
Thank you for the encouragement. I believe you are correct about it touching a subject that has been discussed for centuries. As far as the question of who God has given possession to? It would be my opinion that God initially gave possession or “dominion” to humanity, (AKA Adam & Eve) but a certain sneaky snake (Lucifer) talked them into handing that dominion over to him. As a result humanity was evicted from the Garden of Eden. (“Paradise” if you will) The consequences of that choice severed the relationship between God and humanity, but God, already had a plan in place to restore that broken relationship through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Well I think your correct that it has been discussed for a long time and it doesn’t look like we are going to resolve it today either😂 Your list of events are possibly accurate but I don’t think they in anyway change the sovereignty, they may change possession but sovereignty does not change in my opinion.