God has delegated to parents, not to the church or the state, the most basic powers of human life and society. Parents are given: (1) The Control of Children, Gen. 18:19. The control of children is the control of the future; and that is why the state is increasingly claiming this power. (2) The Control of Property, Exod. 20:15. God has placed the control and stewardship of property into the hands of the family. The state, however, is usurping this power through taxation, confiscation, regulation, and eminent domain. (3) The Control of Inheritance, Prov. 13:22. The children of Christians are blessed by an inheritance, spiritual and material, and God's work flourishes as a result. Now the state makes the claim of being the real executor of the estate. (4) The Control of Welfare, I Cor. 5:8. Welfare of the family, old and young, is the responsibility of the family, with the assistance of the church and voluntary associations, not the state. The church assists the family through the diaconate, Acts 6:1f. (5) The Control Of Education, Deut. 6:1ff. Parents are given the responsibility of educating their children, with the help of the church, not the state; but, the state claims the right to control and provide education from a humanistic, socialistic, anti-Christian perspective.