If there is one thing I’ve discovered since immersing myself into politics, it is this: one man or woman can truly make a huge difference. You’ll find this to be true if you only observe the hundreds of people who make up the tapestry of your day to day life. How many, would you say, have ever gone to a meeting of the school board? Started a petition drive? Ran for office? Or even written a letter to their representative at the state or federal level? Surprisingly few I’d say.
If you are not convinced of this fact, I’d urge you to study the one man who may very well claim sole responsibility for the signing of our Declaration of Independence — John Adams.
Really? John Adams? The one term President? The portly fellow from Boston?
Yes, that John Adams. Now, I’m not saying he stood alone against the delegations of the thirteen colonies and dared to be the only man to breathe the word “seperation,” but every movement, no matter how grand, has a driving force. Corporations know this. That’s why they’re willing to pay CEOs outlandish sums of money, even though they have office buildings full of bright engineers, accountants, and marketers. Without the driving force, they’re just bright people swirling about like chickens in the barnyard. Given the right driving force, though, they sprout wings like eagles and take flight.
That was John Adams. The man that left his wife Abigail, his children, his farm, and his succesful law practice in Boston to fight tirelessly for seperation from Great Britian, the most powerful nation on earth. The man who was on a list of those to be hanged immediately upon arrest. The man who stood in a room full of giants –Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lee, Rush–and refused to back down from a position that was almost certainly a death sentence for them all.
But what has always inspired me most about Adams was his faith. In every letter to his wife–all of which begin “Dearest Friend”–his words are filled with the desire to serve his God, even before service to his country. This is essential to understand, for it was Adams who would instruct following generations what was necessary for this nation to survive.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
That quote from Adams after the signing of the Constitution in 1787 is at the very heart of every challenge our nation faces today. A republic, based around a free market, requires men of integrity and virtue to stand. Had Adams found himself surrounded by colonies full of liars, cheats, and theives, I’m confident that he would have suggested a central government with a heavy hand, because that is the type of government such a people deserve. And it is that type of government that is necessary to protect the would-be victims of such a people.
What we see in America today is a nation that has drifted far from God. While a majority of the population still claims to believe in God, and most still identify themselves as Christians, we see little of Christianity in practice. One need only read a list of the most popular TV shows, movies, and novels to see that Americans have an insatiable appetite for art that glorifies lust, greed, and debauchery.
One need only scan the headlines one morning to see that our corporate leaders have turned from honest gain to easy profit. Our children treat their elders with less decency than they’d treat a dog. And few would argue that our national obsession with sex is adolescent at best, perverted at worst.
We began as a nation where men gathered in taverns to discuss philosophy, religion, and politics. Walk through any public gathering place today and the highest order of dialogue will most likely involve the latest NFL draft pick. Only one label will fit the driving passions of most Americans: meaningless.
Yes, it is the 4th of July. I’m supposed to post something patriotic and inspirational. I’m supposed to use phrases like “the greatest nation on earth” and “a great experiment in freedom.”
This is freedom? We are so enslaved to our debt, posessions, and lustful desires that most can scarce breathe at the thought of losing even a tenth of what he owns. Let alone abandoning all, including his very life, to pursue a greater cause.
In 1776, thousands of colonists surrendered all for a greater cause. Many knew they’d never see the day when the last British flag sailed eastward over the horizon. But they looked beyond that horizon and the brevity of their own existence. They believed in much more than posessions, security, and comfort. They believed that God had a greater plan for this nation and for the generations that followed.
One must wonder what those men would think if they could have looked into the future and gotten a glance of Americana 2012. They would have laid down their muskets and returned to the farm. Is this what they would die for? Better to stay with the tyrant King than risk all for a people who would struggle to name even one of the signers of the Declaration, but who could easily list the last ten winners of a televised talent show.
It is not my desire to make you feel guilty on this Independence Day. It is my desire, as it was John Adams’, to inspire a fire in your soul. After all, that is the title of this here blog. It takes but a few thousand patriots who are willing to sacrifice their comfortable lives to restore this country to its original intent–a nation founded under God and in existence for His glory.
If we, once again, return to a society that places high value on morality and virtue, we can elect anyone to office and still thrive as a nation. As long as our elected officials must win the affections of an immoral society, though, we cannot expect them to behave any differently.
It is the 4th of July. It is time to reclaim our independence from the desires of this world and turn back to God for perfect freedom through the blood of Jesus Christ. Share the gospel, my friends. Share it with anyone who will stand still long enough to hear it.
It is only when we humble ourselves as a nation and bend our knee before our Creator that we can once again enjoy our inalienable rights as a free people.
Happy 4th of July. God bless you and may God bless America again.
Excellent Ron, couldn’t have said it better myself! Thanks for sharing.