Friday; July 4

Today is July 4, Independence Day in the United States of America.  When I was growing up, this was a great day filled with all kinds of fun things.  As the commercial would remind us, it was time to celebrate all things American:  baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet!  Throw in a trip to your favorite water spot and finish it off with some fireworks and it was a day to be remembered and celebrated!

Like a lot of things, recently, even though the Fourth of July is still a fun day, it has lost some of its luster.  Some people use it as a day to promote their nationalistic agenda while others see it as a reminder of how our nation has let them down.  Unfortunately, it is getting harder and harder to just have good old-fashioned fun. 

Now, while I am disappointed in some of the peripheral concepts associated with this national holiday, I do think that it can remind us of the responsibility all people have to our communities.  In encouraging the early Christians, Peter wrote, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” (I Pete 2:16-17).  I don’t think Pete was making a political statement as much as he was telling the people to be the best people they could be.  Whether it was doing what was right in the eyes of the government or doing right by our neighbors, we have an obligation to be righteous people.

Happy Independence Day!  Let’s enjoy the day and allow it to remind us of the responsibilities we have to be the best we can be – not just to be good citizens, but to be good people as well.

Think About It!

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