Independence Day

Today we celebrate Independence Day. It’s a good time to do some thinking. This country is very different from the one I grew up in. We spent the weekend in Houston. We didn’t see many folks who could speak English. I am not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s just one piece of evidence that the country is changing. The people who make up America are changing. We have always been a melting pot; it just seems that lots of the new folks aren’t melting in. I’m not sure that’s good. The new folks don’t seem to be aware of or grateful for how we got to be independent. Even the young folks who were born here seem to have that problem.

We have always been free; but I wonder how free we are. I feel more controlled and watched and limited by government than ever before in my life. I have never known a time when the IRS and the justice department and the Congress in general was so corrupt. it’s not a question of “might be” corrupt. There isn’t much issue about it.

I think we are less free than ever.  What worries me more is that we seem to be doing less than ever with our freedom. Christians complain about being marginalized and maybe even a bit persecuted. It’s not like we are doing that much to call for such attention. We are making fewer disciples than ever before. We are known more for complaining about sin than for introducing sinners to a savior. We seem more separated in our mega churches and denominations than ever before. We seem more racially segregated than ever. We are certainly more economically separated, there’s an obvious divide between the have too much and the have-nots. No wonder a socialist like Bernie can make such a splash.

I think there are lots of reasons for this. Young people seem completely ignorant of our history and the workings of government. This generation hasn’t faced a draft or the need to go off to war. A few have done so bravely, but it doesn’t seem to have changed the entire generation. What you don’t have to fight for or don’t remember your parents fighting for can easily become very unimportant. The young seem to yearn for socialism with no understanding of what it is. I wonder what they would think of JFK’s speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you; but what you can do for your country.” That was 50 years ago. How much has changed.

As bad as things are, I think we are still the most free. We just need to start acting like it. We need to exercise our freedom of speech and religion and not be intimidated by political correctness. We need to be willing to serve the country and to honor those who do instead of thinking of our military as those who just couldn’t get real jobs and were silly enough to think you need to have a job. If we are going to have better politicians we need to have better people willing to serve. You can’t tell me that Hillary and Donald are the best this nation could come up with.

Finally we need to celebrate the real freedom that comes with a life of following Jesus. We need to pass on to the next generation that the greatest blessing is in following Him, serving a cause greater than ourselves, and in loving and honoring those who inspire us to do that.

Happy Independence Day. Why not celebrate it by being independent, fighting to stay independent, teaching those who have forgotten how we became independent, and by living lives of true independence and not politically correct, silent, marching in step citizenship that seems the norm today. Sounds radical, even revolutionary? Good that’s exactly what I intended.