Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
-- Philippians 4:8
The book of Philippians is Paul's most positive epistle. It is not like the psycho-babble of Norman Vincent Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking" that ignores the reality of depravity and negativity, and inspired the prosperity gospel movement. Philippians is inspired and holy writ which challenges Christians to live a balanced life, one that addresses the problematic and sinful issues of the day, but also chooses to dwell on the blessings of life rather than the curses. Remember, Peale found Paul appealing, but Paul would find Peale appalling.
As we celebrate the 246th birthday of our United States of America, there is a lot for Christians and non-Christians to complain about. We are far from a perfect country, but I cannot think of another one in which I would rather live. There is still so much about our nation that, in the words of Paul, are "true ... honorable ... just ... pure ... lovely ... commendable," especially our four freedoms.
In his State of the Union address in 1941, Episcopalian President Franklin Roosevelt (my father's and my middle name is Franklin, after him) delineated the "four freedoms" that make America great. He touted them and admonished us to take them to the world. These four freedoms are the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. These are "worthy of praise," and we should "think about these things."
Every day I read newspapers in which pundits and citizens criticize our politicians (on both sides of the aisle), express their opinions about controversial subjects such as abortion, sexuality, crime and punishment, and taxes, yet none of them gets arrested. I get to write this column every week and share the gospel in a public newspaper, praise the Lord. That's freedom of speech and freedom of worship combined, the latter of which keeps churches and other religions organizations in our country open and virtually unfettered all of the time. Our freedom from want is not universal, but one would be hard-pressed not to be able to find food, shelter, and clothing in our country if the need genuinely exists. And while I fear the USA may one day implode from bad moral choices and excessive debt, I agree with Lincoln: "Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!"
I praise the Lord today for the United States of America, our four freedoms, and our many other liberties and blessings. We elect our own leaders, and if we don't like them then, we can throw the bums out. We choose where we want to live and, for the most part, what kind of career we want to pursue. We choose our friends and learn to live with the family we have. Most of all, we can read our Bibles in private and public, and worship the Lord privately and publicly according to His guidance and our own consciences. My only wish now is that we could enjoy these things with greater reverence for God and more love for one another.
I was at Oaklawn several years ago when Lee Greenwood came to town on the Fourth of July. I want to close today's column by thinking with him about something "honorable (and) lovely":
I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you,
And defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt,
I love this land,
God Bless the U.S.A.!
Chuck DeVane is the pastor of Lake Hamilton Baptist Church. Call him at 501-525-8339 or email [email protected].