The choice is not between order and liberty.
It is between liberty with order and anarchy without either.
Former Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson and chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials[1]
When our nation’s Founders declared liberty in 1776, they wrote that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men….” This declaration acknowledges that our liberty rights do not originate with the government; rather, God ordained government to secure these liberty rights given by our Creator. This security requires order.
The Supreme Court recently handed down a significant opinion recognizing the need for ordered liberty for the common good. In that case, the Court upheld State laws that prohibit boys from participating on girls’ sports teams.[2] As the Supreme Court acknowledged, upholding the created order among the sexes does not discriminate against others but instead recognizes reality. And this recognition supports both moral and legal order, as noted by Justice Thomas in his concurring opinion: “Men and boys with gender dysphoria are not women or girls, even if they believe that they are. Sex is an immutable ‘biological’ characteristic. . . . To use language to obscure reality – to show ‘indifference regarding the truth’ – is to lie to the public and cease to treat our fellow citizens ‘as equal[s].’”[3] This decision builds on the restoration of ordered liberty as defined in Dobbs v. Jackson. As Justice Alito explained in that case, imposing certain beliefs on others as a matter of right “is certainly not ‘ordered liberty.’ Ordered liberty sets limits and defines the boundary between competing interests.”
As Christians and as citizens, we recognize this order as vital to our well-being both individually and as one nation under God. Order appears all around us as self-evident and, without order, chaos or anarchy sweep in to disrupt God’s design for human flourishing. So, despite what some might think, order actually liberates humanity. But tragically, many in our nation do not appreciate this objective truth. And as we’ve seen too often lately, subjective feelings contrary to truth can infringe upon ordered liberty. For this reason, the recent Supreme Court opinion protecting girls and women in sports represents another important step in recognizing and restoring ordered liberty for we the people.
[1]Terminiello v. City of Chicago, J. Jackson dissent, 337 U.S. 1, 36 (1949).
[2] West Virginia v. B. P. J., Nos. 24-43 & 24-38, slip op. at 28 (June 30, 2026).
[3] Id., J. Thomas concurring, at 2.