Independence Day

Back in the US, my fellow Americans are celebrating the 4th of July, our Independence Day. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on today's significance.

First of all, what's in a day? The colonies voted on Declaration of Independence on the 2nd, not all signing it until the 4th. And if it weren't for French support, many historians argue that the American Revolution would have been another colony's devolution. Our stake in independence required our dependence on declarations of freedom and foreign assistance.

Yet haven't we forgotten this lesson, not only in the past with slavery and segregation, but also today in spreading democracy by force? We should be more diligent in standing up for our "freedom rights," especially when it comes to government secrecy and surveillance that chain our independence with falsified information. We find ourselves "going it alone" with the "coalition [or coercion?] of the willing" in Iraq. I pray we Americans remember that we are not the only ones with the right to self-determination.

Today's New York Times front page reveals how independence can be used: in Macedonia nationalist politics promote factionalist candidates, teenagers are discovering long-term effects of binge drinking, and yet another case of an American GI committing inexplicable atrocities in Iraq against her people.

I wonder if non-Americans, and specifically the Iraqi people, are celebrating our independence today? For many, our independence means their dependence, from the fading prisons of Gitmo to the current Doha round of World Trade talks. Patriotism will get us as far as our borders (of mind or nation I leave to you), but humbleness as God's people will take us further than we can ever imagine.

My point is not to lampoon my home country: I am proud of my country's determination to do good in this world, and even more so for her self-effacing nature to correct past and present mistakes. My point is this: We can use our freedom for ill or good will.

As the Apostle Paul warns,
12"Everything is permissible for me" — but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me" — but I will not be mastered by anything... 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and God will raise us also... 17She who unites herself with the Lord is one with God in spirit. (1 Cor 6)

Sisters and brothers, let us be united today across makeshift national borders and into oneness with Christ. The choices we make today will have ramifications for OUR tomorrow as well as the future God's children. Let us celebrate the freedom we all have to humbly submit to God in all that we do - a God for the people and by the people, of this nation and all creation.

To read more thoughts about today, I recommend this article.