Fourth of July… I love the red, white and blue everywhere, fireworks and barbecues. I Love it all! It’s easy to run right through the 4th of July in celebration mode, so I thought this year I would pause a bit and process what the 4th is really about.
I read a letter from John Adams, one of the founding fathers of our country’s Independence. He wrote this to his wife Abigail on July 1st, 1776…
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
It took two extra days for the celebration to commence, but Independence Day was born; and yes, John Adams, we are still celebrating with games and bonfires and illuminations from sea to shining sea. But Mr. Adams, I’m not sure about the middle. I’m not sure if on the 4th, we are thanking God for the freedom. I think we lost that part.
With that in mind, this year, I’m talking to my kids a little more about freedom, and I want them to reflect on two things…
First, Our freedom was never free.
Generations of brave men and woman fought to instill in this country the ability to be a free nation. It was never handed to them… like it was to most of us. We owe them our gratitude. When you practice gratitude, you lose entitlement. As I have heard Breene Brown say, “What separates Privilege from Entitlement is Gratitude.” I fully agree.
I want my children to know that it is a privilege to live in a free country. I want my family to be filled with gratitude. If we remember the past, maybe as a Nation, we can stop acting entitled, and realize we are all together privileged.
Second, Use your freedom wisely.
When asking my kids what freedom meant, they replied, “Being able to do what you want with no one telling you not to,” “Being able to make your own choices with no one forcing you down a different path,“ and “Being able to eat lots of popsicles.”
Maybe two of the three were pretty legit 🙂 . Webster defines freedom as, “The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.”
They get it. We get it. However, we limit our freedom to the basis that we can self-serve however we want to within the limits of the law. Is that a healthy way to look at this privilege? In the book of Galatians, I think there is a better idea.
Galatians 5:13, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
What if we then celebrated freedom differently? What if we thought about using our freedom to serve others, to institute basic human kindness because we are free to do so? What would that look like if we all chose to operate our freedom in that way? It would be less about self-service and more about letting others experience Christ’s love. What a celebration that would look like!
To sum it up, this year our home will celebrate this, “We get to be free because others fought hard for it, and that allows us do what God wants us to do.”
John Adams went on to say, “Posterity! (Or, people living in 2019!) You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make good use of it.”
This 4th of July friends, let’s use our freedom well. Enjoy the celebration!
