Two weeks ago, The Lancaster Patriot’s Michael Yoder reported on the zoning and permit issues that Twin Brook Retreat in Sadsbury Township has faced from the local civil government. The story highlights the negative consequences of ignoring the biblical framework for civil society and granting government the right of “positive law.”
Merv Beiler, owner of Twin Brook Retreat, told The Lancaster Patriot that he was forced to shut down the retreat for nearly a year due to zoning issues with the township. In late 2021, the overlords at the township realized the wedding venue did not have proper permitting to operate. (Beiler had assumed the activities were permitted, as a winery had held events and weddings on the property prior to his purchase of the land.)
In addition to hosting weddings, Beiler was also using the property to provide Airbnb rentals. During the permitting process, tests determined the septic system did not measure up to regulations for the rental units and the wedding venue. The rulers at the township ordered Beiler to shut down some of his rentals and cease scheduling weddings until satisfactory improvements were made.
The shutdown has brought challenges to both his business and his family.
Beiler ended up removing the rentals from his business and is now focused on what could amount to over $800,000 worth of renovations required to satisfy the township regulations.
In summary, Beiler was serving his neighbors, no harm had been shown, and yet the township shut him down for failing to meet their regulations.
A neighbor even commented, “We’ve never had any problems with the winery or with what Merv has done.”
Candace, Beiler’s wife, lamented, “It felt like my gift of hospitality was being taken away from me.”
She was, of course, correct. Merv and Candace Beiler were serving their neighbors by providing valuable services at rates people were willing to pay, and yet the civil government stripped them of that ability because their property did not follow their regulations.
Stopping a Good Work Via Positive Law
Regulatory tyranny – alive and well even in Lancaster County – is the result of an unbiblical vision for the state. Positive law, which grants the civil government the power to punish people for failing to do things which may or may not result in harm, is the bane of a free society. For Beiler, the punishment came in the form of forcing his business to shutter until he submitted to the regulatory lordship of the township.
Beiler was serving his neighbor, causing no harm to anyone, and yet his business was shut down by government regulations. (For those who have been paying attention in America, the COVID lockdowns may have been quantitatively different, but they were not qualitatively different from what we have seen for decades in this nation. And politicians on both sides of the aisle, even here in Pennsylvania, supported bills which granted the civil government the power to shut down businesses which did not meet certain regulations.)
But isn’t it important that property owners be held responsible for any damages they cause to neighboring properties? Yes, but that is precisely the point: they are to be held responsible for any damage they cause to neighboring properties. They are not to be held responsible for the possibility of causing damage to neighboring properties.
That we have failed to distinguish between the two is to our shame as a people.
A Biblical Example
The civil government is only authorized by God to punish evil (cf. Romans 13:3; 1 Peter 2:14). This is negative law. The law is for the “lawless and disobedient” (1 Timothy 1:9). As such, the law serves only to punish (certain) evil acts in society. It is a perversion of the law – a using of the law unlawfully – to penalize people for non-evil acts.
Guidelines can be put in place to help avoid any harm, but the penalties must only attach to actual harm. For example, consider Deuteronomy 22:8: “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.”
What is interesting to note here is that nowhere in the Bible is there a penalty attached for failure to install the parapet (wall around the roof). The penalty only comes “if anyone should fall from it.” In that case, the “guilt of blood” would be upon the owner who, by negligence, brought harm to invited guests. (The roof was the location for social gatherings.)
In Beiler’s case, the most the civil government has the authority to do is recommend modifications – something the private market would probably do much better. When the government sets the regulations, we are far more likely to see arbitrary standards, often based on useless federal initiatives or big company lobbyists. But even the best regulations should never rise above recommendations.
In his book, The Sound Doctrine of Theocracy, Luke Saint writes, “Regulating bodies are a wonderful feature of commerce, but a Theocracy allows for a business to submit itself to regulative standards, and does not force them to. The business is free to operate without any oversight, but, depending on the field, this decision is a gamble that is usually unnecessary and risky.”
If Beiler’s venue causes damage to his neighbor, then his neighbor can seek restitution. If Beiler pays the restitution, and then his venue causes more damage to his neighbor, his neighbor can again seek restitution. The civil penalty is to be paid, not to the government, but “to him to whom he did the wrong” (Numbers 5:7). The civil ruler is thus limited to arbitrating between two parties, not setting regulations ad infinitum, acting as the benevolent despot, always concerned for “public safety.”
Regulatory oversight belongs in the private sector, not in the hands of civil magistrates. Until we realize this and return to God’s Law-Word in the civil sphere, we will continue to cripple our economy and shut down businesses because they fail to follow humanistic positive law. (And how many businessmen have foregone a new endeavor because of the barrier to entry created by regulations?)
It would behoove the residents of Sadsbury Township, and the rest of Lancaster County, to elect men who will rule in the fear of God, rather than for the love of regulations. Then, and only then, will we be truly free to serve our neighbors.
Chris Hume is the host of The Lancaster Patriot Podcast and the author of several books, including Seven Statist Sins. He can be reached at info@thelancasterpatriot.com.
