Mt. Rushmore, SD
2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
So often we celebrate July 4, 1776, as Independence Day, and forget that a war raged until September 3, 1783. After the Treaty of Paris, what was next for this fledgling independent nation? At this point, the government had been working under the Articles of Confederation to ally the states into a country. In 1787, the Constitution was arduously created. After finally signing a final draft, Benjamin Franklin emerged from [now called] Independence Hall. He was asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” He answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
A short answer from a man known for his many words, but perhaps that was because he had used so many to get to that moment. Here are a few of them:
“I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that, the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others.”
“In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Are we becoming corrupted? Are we using our judgement for the greater good or are we using our freedom to advance our own personal and private agendas? We have had hard and painful lessons, people have suffered, and mistakes have been made, but now is not the time to allow the forward progress to cease. It would be easy to follow the popular trends and rest on our laurels eating low-hanging poisoned apples. Do we, the Nation founded on “In God We Trust,” have His Spirit flowing through our actions or do we egotistically push it aside? Only with that guidance can America continue to remain the most free and greatest nation in the world. True, America has never been perfect, but it is indeed beautiful and only with God’s help we can truly embrace, “We the People…”
