WATCH: Can governments become slaves to sin?

IDF Sgt. Major Chaim Malespin explores the profound biblical truth that Jesus spoke of in John 8 – that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. But can this principle apply not just to individuals, but to governments and world powers as well?

Join the discussion by watching the video above or reading the lightly edited transcript below.

Shalom. It's me, Chaim Malespin, here at the Sea of Galilee. Holding my shepherd's stick. I'm on a little rest and relaxation. A little recharge from the front lines...from the fighting – the war in Gaza. There's also missiles – all kinds of missiles on the northern border. And I'm thinking of the peaceful words of the Galilean Rabbi Yeshua. And Yohanan (John), in chapter 8 – he's one of the Galilean disciples – and he writes: “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” We know that that is true for us individually, but isn't it also true for governments and world powers? 

Now, I did my degree, my BA, in Government Diplomacy, Strategy, History of the Middle East, Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, one of the best schools of government in Israel. And I'm looking at the relationships of countries and nations right now as it relates to Israel. And I just want to focus for a second on the United States and Iran – their relationship. 

So, they had years of every American regime realizing that Iran, after the Islamic Revolution, is an enemy to the Western world. I mean, they're calling United States ‘the Big Satan,’ Israel, ‘the little Satan.’ And, the Obama administration, though, decides to change things up and he took his administration, he says, ‘Let's make close ties with the ayatollahs,’ with that regime.

And, of course, then he also freed up access to millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars. He pushed the U.S. Treasury, Obama back in the day, to convert the to allow a conversion of equivalent of $5.7 billion of funds held by the Oman Bank and Muscat from Riyal into dollar and then into Euro, and to be used by them – so... unfroze their assets. 

And what do you think Iran did with that money? Were they all happy and said, “Yes, we'll be great friends with America now?” Or do you think they went in armed terror groups, their proxies, you know, they have a lot of proxies in Yemen: They've got the Houthis, they've got Hezbollah, they've got, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Izz al-Din al-Qassam, the al-Qassem Brigades. 

And well, guess what? Some would argue that Chaim has to hold the ‘shepherd stick’ right now and risk his life because of some of those things, some of those moves, some of those administration policy shifts. 

Let me ask you one thing: Is it too hard to believe that maybe some of the money also went to bribe the United States’ policymakers? ...Like when CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations) started putting all this money to the American school system and saying, ‘We want to just put some... favorable changes to the Islamic regime/ to the Islamic world view into the school system of America. And they took that money and changes were made. I think they're playing a long game here – and it's influencing America. 

You look at the policies even of the Biden administration now, okay? And the Biden administration is willing to stand up to Iran's proxies. They brought the boats here and the destroyers and the Dwight Eisenhower... But 'Are they willing to stand up to Iran itself?' is a real big question. Or are they enslaved to ....they’ve allowed a bully to bully. And if you let a bully bully...you are being bullied and .... you're stuck in a rut in some way.

Once you normalize terrorism and radical Islamism, where do you say enough's enough, Stop!?  Where? Is it when the proxies attack Israel, then you say enough's enough? Is it when they attack America through their proxies, maybe through Mexico, maybe terrorist cells in the United States? Does it take a huge attack on American soil? I hope not [has ve'shalom], like the Twin Towers, to make to see what's going on. 

Iranian leaders, these ayatollahs, they're not dumb. They're strategic. They play a long game. They learn how to play the U.S. and how to play the West, and how they can get away with things if they're not dealt with if it's not identified. 

I mean, look at our personal lives. Once we are separated from the source – from God – we lose moral clarity. We could become slaves to sin, addicted to things, addicted to habits. And we become not the head, we become the tail. And I see that America is drifting away from the Judeo-Christian core – biblical values – that guided its foundation and it's falling into all kinds of... ‘Everybody, do whatever you want.’ And so, then you don't have a moral compass; you don't have a guide to say, I've compromised the line here. 

So, what can you do if you're a U.S. citizen; You're a U.S. citizen, I'm a U.S. citizen. You could raise your voice. You could write letters to your Congresspeople. You can speak out. You could use your freedom of speech that you still have, against the effects of compromise, policy of compromise. No, Americans don't compromise. We stand up. We pray. We pray publicly. We go to Capitol Hill and let's do it together. Stand for the Word of God together. Don't be bullied around.