STABILIZING THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
In the early nineties, the leaning Tower of Pisa began to lean too far. Seeing that the 180-foot-high tower would soon become dangerous, engineers designed a system to salvage the twelfth-century landmark by holding the lean constant. First the engineers injected supercold liquid nitrogen into the ground to freeze it and thereby minimize dangerous ground vibrations during the work that followed. Then they installed cables to pull the structure more upright. The aim was that the underground cable network will pull the tower toward center by at least an inch. Left to itself, our world resembles the leaning Tower of Pisa: tilting and heading to catastrophe. To prevent total anarchy, God establishes governments to maintain order. Governments and their laws function like the steel cables that will hold the leaning tower. The tower still leans. It’s not perfect. But the cables prevent total destruction (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (211). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
From a sermon by Matthew Kratz, The Christian’s Response to Government, 5/19/2012