The Sharper the Sword

Speech delivered at New Saint Andrews College September 26, 2025, in response to the following prompt: all else being equal, a liberal arts and humanities education yields more fruit in the life of a governor than in that of a garbage man.

“It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the Kingship of Christ.”

So said the second most powerful man in the world to a live audience of 100 thousand, with 100 million more watching from home. Soon, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of War each stood on stage, preaching the gospel and commemorating the first great American martyr.

I know I quoted the Vice President last time I spoke here, but as an example he becomes more relevant with each day. Well-trained in the liberal arts, he is exemplary of the impact a wise and godly ruler can have upon the people. I trust that our faculty is working behind the scenes to bring him over as a Disputatio speaker next year.

Now, many of you are tired of this question, but I propose that it really is crucial for Christians moving forward. I believe taking our nation back depends on our answer.

To begin with, we’ll need to define our terms very clearly: What do we mean by governors, garbage men, and bearing fruit?

Let’s start by defining fruit. Fruits, briefly, are results, good or bad. What comes of your actions? To what extent have you fulfilled the cultural mandate, to fill the earth and bring it under submission to Christ? How far has the Kingdom advanced through you? Here are some things fruits are not: fruits are not your actions themselves, they are not sanctification, and they are not faithfulness. Faithful Christians still bear different amounts of fruit: Some 30, some 60, and some 100. Christ expects more fruit from the one he has given many talents.

A governor governs. Whether an office of state or not, he is one in authority over others. Even within this category there are ranks and overlaps, but such an office could be in a business, a church, or the state. Examples of governors in these respective categories would be Elon Musk, The Pope, and Donald Trump.

A “garbage man” is an occupation with little or no authority over others. Whether a parking attendant, a janitor, or serving coffee at Bucer’s. For the sake of the prompt, he stays in this role for the duration we are asking about. Someone who starts here but moves up, ceases to count as a “garbage man” and becomes some level of governor. I work for the college library; I’m currently a “garbage man.”

Don’t be fooled when my opponents try to obfuscate or ignore these definitions. All else being equal, that is the character, natural capacity, and virtue of the man, a liberal arts and humanities education yields more fruit in the life of a governor than a garbage man for three reasons: It was designed for his education, the scope of the office amplifies it, and God requires this understanding from a governor in a way he does not require it of the garbage man.

The liberal arts are, according to our own college, “particularly important for leaders, who themselves must be guides.” They are the tools of learning, of acquiring and passing on knowledge. They were developed for the training and forming of a free man—a man fit to rule. The liberal arts cultivate the three virtues that Plato requires for the Philosopher King: wisdom, courage, and temperance. While all useful for any man, their extent can only be fully realized by the man with authority, and the greater the authority the better they are realized.

The Humanities are the vault of human experience and knowledge which pass on the great cultural heritage: the experience of innumerable ranks of our ancestors. The humanities do not exist in a vacuum for self improvement: they are the rule by which wise men forged kingdoms, tamed seas, and subdued nature.

The wise governor is a force-multiplier for the works of his people, because he equips them to bear fruit rather than keeping the benefits of his education for himself, and maybe a small circle of friends. Our enemies realize this. Why do you think they killed Charlie Kirk? Is it because he bore the same fruit as a liberally educated garbage man? If so, why don’t garbage men have a cabal of enemies who know their names and seek to kill them? No, the left killed Charlie because he bore much fruit: he guided the opinions of thousands and influenced those in the highest echelons of government. The stick-gatherer and the tent-maker of Israel were responsible to be faithful in their tasks. But the risk for the nation was less if any one of them failed than if Moses did. Every part of the body is important, but which does more damage? A bad heart or a bad toe? The governor produces more fruit one way or another. It can be much worse fruit than the worst the garbage man could produce, because a greater good corrupted becomes a greater evil. C.S. Lewis speaks of this in The Great Divorce, saying that the highest angels become the fiercest devils, the deepest loves become the darkest lusts, and so the most beneficent kings, gone rogue, can become the most oppressive tyrants. The sharper the sword the better it cuts for good or ill. A wicked governor saps the nation’s soul.

Finally, God requires it for the ruler, not for the commoner. The fundamental weapons of warfare are prayer and powder. The garbage man, absent anarchy, will never be in the position where he must decide whether to take a captive’s head. The governor is responsible for his people, and makes this decision daily. He must be Solomon. Who wrote, by the way, that when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” (Prov. 29:2) He neglects to mention the results of a righteous or wicked man taking out your trash. Since the governor can praise and punish, God requires him especially to study wisdom. The king must copy and study the law of God and the laws of nature; he must be a Philosopher King. To paraphrase Mr. Shafer, “It’s always good to see Christ proclaimed by the everyday man, but it’s extraordinary what happens when He’s proclaimed by your heads of state.” The liberally educated King, whether Alfred or JD Vance, is a nursing father to God’s people, including the garbage men, in a way that no other office can be.

Some take this argument as an exaltation of the governor’s faith over the garbage man’s. The garbage man may be as faithful in his office as the governor can be in his, but he does not bear as much weight, nor is he on the front lines of spiritual war in the same way as the governor. He can be a freethinker, but he is missing the crucial element of leadership needed to bear more fruit, not just directly, but through others. I have heard Luther’s “Priesthood of all believers” invoked to equalize the fruit of the two. But In “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” he writes that “the works of monks and priests, differ no whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic toiling in the field, but all works are measured before Him by faith alone.” He is not describing fruits, but works. God evaluates our faithfulness. That is why the servant who made two talents from two is congratulated like him who made five from five.

I have no quarrel with my opponents, at least no further than calling their position, to quote the great Norm McDonald, a “bunch of commie gobbledygook.” I believe there is a danger on the other side of giving into the egalitarian impulse. If you believe any of this is an insult to garbage men, you’ve missed the point. God nowhere calls all men to equal work, nor does he claim all will have an equal effect on his kingdom. But the very notion that something might not be equal, even in Christ, causes many of us to clench our fists and riles our spirits. Why do we react this way? Are we discontent to see another be more fruitful than ourselves, and instead of seeking a higher position to increase our fruit, we seek to drag them down to our level?

I’ve laid out three reasons why a liberal arts education bears more fruit through a governor, but in the end we all intuitively recognize this. Come November, who are we voting for? Our garbage men? No, but we’ll elect a new mayor for our city. That man’s fruit is the wellbeing of thousands. How much more nationally? How much more the Vice President declaring the truth of the Nicene Creed before millions?

New Saint Andrews exists to equip leaders. You are responsible to maximize the return on investment. Men, he who desires the office of overseer desires a good thing. You should want to govern. Your prayer should be “Lord, give me more talents, that I might return more to you.”

Omni cui multum datum est, multum quaeretur ab eo.