5.19.2008

Have you ever considered our grand heritage? The work poured into the Constitution; the wars fought for independence, in which, men sacrificed their lives for the country. Why? Because all that they knew and loved was in our country. They felt that their lives were worth dying if it was to bring independence and safety to America. They asked in return that we do our duty, and remain loyal.
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." ~Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.

This speech was given after the Civil War, but it could refer to any war that ever happened in our history (e.g. The War for Independence, the War of 1812, World War I and II, the Vietnam war, The Iraq war, etc.), and any sacrifice done out of love for this country. Are we letting those who have given their lives and their all to purchase our freedom and further our comfort be fully honored and respected by us?
Honestly, I know not the answer to this question. The best way we could honor them is by enjoying the result of their labor, and by striving to do the same. Are we doing this? There are two questions we need to ask ourselves,
1. Are we spending too much of our time complaining about the price of food or what not to enjoy our nation's abundance, and rejoice that God has blessed her through the labor of others?

2.
Are we lazily sitting around, and wanting others to do the work for us, or are we taking up the call to work, and to work heartily?

I used to think, "Why should we serve our country? We should serve God." I didn't realize I was missing the point. One of the ways I can serve God is through serving my country. I can serve Him by doing my work heartily and as unto Him, and my country will benefit from that.
How can we serve the country? Simply by doing our best in the work around us and inspiring others to do the same. Both the mom working in the home for her family, and the soldier on the battlefield are serving the country. We can also serve America by praying for her, and preaching the Gospel, for it needs to be heard! We can obey the laws set by the government and respect those in the leadership unless the laws go against the Word of God.
Therefore, let me encourage you to do your best in all your work for God's glory, and the people around you will benefit (and possibly be encouraged to do likewise), and through that, the country will also benefit.

Note: I didn't mean for this to be so long and dry, in fact, I never planned to write anything so dry on my blog! I got a little carried away after reading the Gettysburg address in my grammar book, and simply had to get out my thoughts about it somewhere. Therefore, don't take my post too seriously, as I am hardly a politician of any sort. :)

1 comment:

Homemanager said...

This is far from "dry", you have made some very good points and it is apparent that you put some good thought into it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.