Independence Day, 2022

Today we Americans celebrate our "Independence Day." We celebrate our struggle against the tyranny of King George III and Great Britain. We celebrate becoming our own nation and all that has been accomplished because of that struggle. Independence. On this day we celebrate the events of 1776 when we declared independence from Great Britain and became dependent only on ourselves.

That is, as it turns out, not entirely accurate. Perhaps it is more so today, but it wasn't in 1776. The Declaration of Independence was finally revised and signed on July 4, 1776. In it our forefathers declared that the purpose of government on earth was intended to secure rights that the Creator had given people. They presented a long list of violations of that obligation. So, they said, they were dissolving their connection to the failed authority of the king and turning to the authority derived from the people.

"See," you may say. "Independence meant self-governance." Sort of. The Declaration ends with "And 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." It started with the endowment of "unalienable Rights" by the Creator, and it ended with "firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence." Yes, they were intending to derive their governing power from the people, but their ultimate reliance wasn't the people; it was God.

We've moved on, haven't we? We've achieved ultimate self-reliance. We've ruled God out of government. We're offended if someone wants to pray on the 50-yard line at a school football game. Someone in government suggests that we need God in government and they're tagged as "no different than the Taliban" (by someone who classifies themselves as "Christian"). There is a common belief that you can be a Christian and you can be in government, but don't bring your Christian beliefs into government. This is, of course, utter nonsense. Following Christ engages all aspects of life and you can't turn it off. Beyond that, we shouldn't. We ought not (where "ought" carries a sense of moral obligation).

I don't believe that God has called for a theocracy. I believe that will happen when He makes it happen at the end. But as we celebrate our independence from an oppressive government while we live in a nation that is tending toward removing God-given rights instead of defending them, I would like to remind you (Christians) of two things. First, the founders of this nation did not believe in actual independence. They sought independence from Great Britain and from oppressive government, but they held to ongoing dependence on God. So should we. Second, while we are not called to be the government of this world, we are told to make "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings ... for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Tim 2:1-2). Let's do that. Often.