It’s
that time of year again. Fireworks, cookouts, gatherings, parades, speeches,
watermelon…and on and on. I hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day
weekend. While you are doing that, I also hope you will take a few minutes to
reflect on America…on where we have come from and who we are as a nation. A
good place to begin would be the Declaration. I would encourage you to pull it
out and read it.
Consider…
“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, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed…”
America
is so unique among nations. No one is guaranteed success, but all have the
opportunity for it. It is written into our law. America began in humility
before our Creator, not at the arrogant hand of a demagogue or king or
dictator. Success in America was never intended to be passed from aristocrat to
children through the generations. Success was recognized as a possibility for
everyone. Our Founders placed God in His proper place, as the giver of those
“unalienable rights”. They recognized that our freedoms don’t come from the
Bill of Rights, from our Constitution, or from the subsequent laws that have
been passed through the years. They recognized that our freedoms and rights as
human beings come directly from our Creator. Our laws are there to protect
those God given gifts.
Let
us not look to Washington for our rights. Let us look to Washington to be sure
they are protecting that which God has given us. There is much conflict in
America right now. I suspect at its core, if we look honestly, we will find the
absence of the humility of our founders, who placed our Creator in His proper
place in their hearts, minds, and actions as they stood firm for human liberty.
The cost was high for them and we, through the years, have reaped the benefit
of their sacrifice.
I
hope and pray that sacrifice will not have been lost on our, and future,
generations of Americans.
Happy
4th of July!! Ka-Boom!
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