Sometimes it is important to remind ourselves that this United States of America is a special place. Like no other nation before or since, this land symbolizes freedom to a world teeming with people longing for the sweet taste of liberty.
From earliest times people flocked to these shores to be free from economic oppression, to strive for cherished dreams, to worship God according to the dictates of their own hearts, to become all within their power to become.
In 1776, when the Second Continental Congress shared the proclamation that “all men are created equal,” it gave voice to the American experience. Heritage in this land was something one built for one’s self. It was not a birthright. It did not depend on family name or title. All were welcomed to participate in equal standing.
The members of that historic assembly declared, too, that men were “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” These rights included the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Before that day kings, princes and other government officials controlled such rights. One lived at the whim of the king.
Whatever freedom one had came at the largess of the king. Life was lived to benefit the king, certainly not for something as trivial as “the pursuit of Happiness.”
No longer. Princes of the Old World could become paupers in America and paupers from the Old World could become princes of finance. In the Old World the king determined one’s religion on penalty of death for nonconformers. Here each individual was free to choose whether or not to worship and how.
The ideals of the Declaration of Independence provided the framework for goals toward which this nation still struggles. People have fought wars and endured bitter social struggles as they gallantly toiled to translate these ideals into reality. In some ways, those struggles continue today.
That “all men are created equal” remains a commitment of America. The nation’s political system incorporates that value in the “one man, one vote” principle. All are equal before the law. Both principles affirm the Bible teaching that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).
Equality, however, can be guaranteed by none. Some social systems attempt to guarantee equality — both economic equality and social equality. Some argue that wherever there is a gap between rich and poor, that is evidence of injustice. A few utopian-type communities based on this principle have sprung up in the United States from time to time, but such movements never found fertile soil here.
One writer contends that a commitment to equality for all fails to consider “the role played by talent, character, ambition, initiative, daring, work and spirit in producing unequal outcomes in ‘the pursuit of happiness.’”
A few years ago one who usually comes down on the side of economic equality, a political socialist, told William F. Buckley Jr. that “those nations which have put liberty ahead of equality have ended up doing better by equality than those with the reverse priority.”
Liberty provides hope that one can change tomorrow so that it is not like today. Freedom assures that one is not trapped in some endless cycle based on who one’s parents are. The American dream of improving life through hard work is still a reality for many and a possibility for all.
Unfortunately, that which we value most — freedom — can also guide us toward a negative outcome: selfishness. People laugh at the joke that there is no such thing as being “too rich.” If one has lived the American dream one might conclude that those who fail are responsible for their situations. People are poor because they choose to be poor, some say.
Often one is tempted to embrace positive personal characteristics such as ability and hard work but deny the reality and results of characteristics like prejudice, discrimination, isolation from resources, disappearing jobs and such.
More than one social scientist has observed that “love of money was the most conspicuous and most common trait of the American character.”
When that happens, it is a tragedy. It is more than that. It is sin. One cannot be possessed by love of money (selfishness) and love of neighbor (compassion) at the same time.
Israel understood that God was the champion of the orphan, the widow, the alien, the lonely, the prisoner (Ps. 68:4–6). They understood the command of Exodus 22:21–24 that to mistreat such people was to provoke God’s wrath.
Jewish society was structured to care for the poor and for the needy (Deut. 14:28–29; 24:17–22). These social structures were commandments ordered by God. Obedience not only showed concern for one’s neighbor, it evidenced a love for God.
So deeply was this principle woven into the fabric of Jewish life that Proverbs 29:7 declares, “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”
It was not enough to refrain from doing harm to the poor. Because God was on the side of such people, those rightly related to Him were to be proactive on behalf of the poor. Lack of concern for the poor evidenced a wicked heart.
Again, selfishness and compassion cannot live together in the same heart.
Alabama Baptists, like other citizens in this great nation, love America. We love its liberty. We cherish its commitment that all are created equal. We value the opportunities it provides. And we affirm with those great patriots of yesterday that God is the source of our freedoms.
But commitment to freedom for our nation and for ourselves can never callous our hearts to the command of God to love Him and to love our neighbor. Personal actions evidence our obedience to that command, but as in Jewish society, so do the social structures we help construct.
God, help us to love You, to love our nation and to love our neighbor in Your blessed name. Amen.
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