Annually,Independence Day, celebrated on the Fourth of July, is the remembrance of the publication of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. One of the most famous quotes from the Declaration of Independence is, “[w]e 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”– credited to Thomas Jefferson. As I recently reflected on the words of, then Virginia delegate, Jefferson, I thought about the irony of arguably the most famous document of freedom ever written, being in large part speaking out about,“the establishment of an absolute Tyranny…”Of the 1,322 words written in the Declaration of Independence, 656 of them give a detailed account of the oppression associated with living under the rule of Great Britain and King George III in “the colonies.” I ultimately discovered the entire document has the potential to lead to or communicate bondage.
I am so thankful for the thoughtfulness of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Their words, bold and courageous, have blessed billions of people around the world with inspired freedom. I believe the words of Romans 13:1, which reads, “[f]or there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”With the truth of that Romans passage, some questions came to mind. Why would our Lord bless the people of what would later become the United States of America with “certain unalienable rights” despite the fact many people living in 1776 were experiencing similar, if not worse, bondage and tyranny? Why, with such freedoms given to the people of the United States, would so many Americans still live in physical, mental, and spiritual bondage? A possible reason is our “unalienable rights” may solely conjure pursuit of selfish purposes if left unchecked. I believe the sole pursuit of self-interests leads to bondage and the pursuit of love for and service to others leads to freedom. The writers of the Declaration of Independence, intentionally or unintentionally, eluded to my assertion and the answers to the questions above. The Word of God confirms my belief and makes the answers to the questions above clear to Christians.
We Americans, especially Christians, have an obligation to use our freedom to love and serve others. A less quoted portion of the Declaration of Independence reads, “…for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”For Christ Followers, Galatians 5:13 reads, “[f]oryou were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedomas an opportunity forthe flesh, but through love serve one another.”Many of us strive to realize the love of self, associated with “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” while forgetting the love of, and service to, people in the pledging of our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. We may find ourselves resting in the joy of our freedom in Christ without remembering that to share the joy of the love of Christ, in service, is the purpose of our God-given freedom. “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 1:11-12). To all of our Bay Area Church family, we pray for safety, fun, and happiness this Fourth of July week.