We hold these truths to be self-evident …
Summary: The history of the United States is both fascinating and instructive.
The 4th of July is not a celebration of our Constitution, neither is it in recognition of our status as an independent nation. The United States of America would not be officially recognized until September 3, 1783.[1] Instead of the birth of a nation, the 4th of July is a tribute to its conception.
On July 4, 1776, fifty-six men representing the thirteen original colonies signed what amounted to a declaration of war.
Sometimes, when we think of war, we think of one group of people going out to conquer and plunder another group. The Old Testament includes many stories about kings who “go off to war” (2 Samuel 11:1). Sometimes wars are a means for God to judge or discipline one nation or another. Other times a king will fight to maintain control over territory, expand his kingdom, or fend off boredom.
The signers of the Declaration did not want any of these things. Instead, they were a people who were being abused by their government. These men and the colonial governments they represented joined together to state their case to the world and take a stand against the abuses they had endured under British rule.
Today, two hundred and forty-eight years later, it is worth considering what they took a stand on, and what they didn’t stand on.
The signers of the Declaration knowingly put their lives, families, and worldly possessions at risk. Many lost all three. They did not do this because they believed that diversity was a strength. In fact, the truth they stood on was just the opposite. Benjamin Franklin understood this all too well when he famously said, “We must hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately.”
The Founding Fathers did not put their lives at risk because they recognized that everyone had a right to their own personal truths. Instead, they acknowledged universal truths that are “self-evident.” These they describe as the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Even though the different colonies were founded on different faith traditions, they all served the same God, and this unity in faith overrode all other differences.
As we consider our situation this year and the challenges we all face collectively, it is good to be reminded that any “unalienable Rights” we have come from our Creator. It is also good to remember that along with the rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” comes the same responsibility that our Founders shouldered, that of standing against tyranny and standing for freedom.
Application: Celebrate, be an informed citizen, and vote!
Food for Thought: How is being a citizen under our Constitution similar to being a Christian?
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[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/day-united-states-became-recognized-sovereign-nation-093219277.html