Part 5: Christian Living
Americans love to sing America the Beautiful written in 1913 by Katharine Lee Bates. It is a great song filled with special meanings. It was once proposed as the peacetime national anthem. The Star-Spangled Banner was to continue as America’s wartime anthem.
Americans have, for the most part, memorized several of the verses.
One verse is, however, very rarely understood. It is the second verse:
O
beautiful for Pilgrim feet
Whose
stern, impassioned stress
A
thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across
the wilderness!
God
mend thine every flaw
Confirm
they soul in self-control,
Thy
liberty in law.
These are beautiful words of deep meaning. The United States is a nation based on law. These laws, being stable and generally free from political tampering, are responsible for our great prosperity. Many will say that there are poor among us. This is true and many are truly very poor. Yet, most poor have TVs, microwaves and automobiles. They are usually more prosperous than their parents and grandparents had been at the same age. This great prosperity is gained through good laws and citizen obedience to those laws.
We can see in other countries where laws vary with the whim of government officials. They are often poor and many citizens do not obey the law except when watched by police. Their prosperity differs greatly from that of the United States.
But we see in our congress the generation of poor laws because of ignorance of economic facts or to gain election funds. We also see on a daily basis an increasing disobedience of our laws and a vanishing personal honesty. If you drive or ride in a car you will see dozens of violations during even a very short trip. Speeding and ignoring stop signs are the most obvious. An example of a law frequently ignored permits right turns on red after stop. These violations often lead to death and injury. These are careless and usually willful actions. They result from a general lack of self-control. These violations so often yield little gain to the violators: they do not arrive at their destination much sooner. Of greater importance to our children and us is the destruction of personal morality and honesty. Because of this our society faces growing severe lawlessness which may well lead to the end of our nation, as we know it.
But are Christians obligated to do better? We find in Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 1 through 8 that:
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Thus Christians are to follow the laws of our land and keep their promises with honesty. Even the small, “doesn’t matter” laws are to be obeyed. The very fabric of our society is torn by the repeated violation of even the little laws. By keeping all laws we will help insure our prosperity and freedoms. This will also please God.
The next lesson, Cheating in School, gives some detailed examples of personal honesty that should be applied, in principle, to teen and adult living.