Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Aaron Burden on Unsplash

In honor of those who never came home, we set aside Memorial Day as a time of national mourning for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Men and women who gave up their lives in support of our country are respected for the choices they made selflessly.

In our current world culture, a valid question to be considered is “Why bother?” Divisiveness is our country’s new norm. People don’t trust one another. Around the world, wars continue, innocent people are dying, and the cost of such violence is often overlooked.

We take so much for granted in our country. We have freedoms and privileges that many in the world don’t have, and yet we treat such gifts with disdain born of a sense of entitlement.

When will we learn to be grateful?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the 74th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, stated, “In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” Through 250 years of history, America has fought and struggled to maintain freedom for its citizens. We haven’t gotten it right all the time, but we’re learning.

Freedom isn’t a destination; it’s a process. We’ve worked through that process, taking two steps forward and one step back since the beginning. But we keep going.

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” President Harry S. Truman made this statement in his economic report after World War II, aware of the cost of war to our country and the world. It was a recognition of what it takes to move forward as a country with hope for improvement.

It takes courage, honesty, and commitment. It’s been said: “The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”

There are many today who would question whether those values are actually part of our American fabric. Many wonder why any of us should bother with the details of freedom, security, and hope.

Jesus set an incredible example of why we ought to care, why there’s significance to committing to people and the bigger picture of what God is doing. Jesus came in love, for the love of people, to die in our place so we might reestablish our relationship with God.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interest of others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He madeHimself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Philippians 2:3-7.

Jesus was other-focused, wanting the best for others, willing to take on the punishment of all our bad decisions. A response of love and grace is what we need, yet it’s a challenge to live it out loud in a more self-centered world.

Why bother? Because all people matter. We are all uniquely different, with talents God has given us to deal with the life we have. More importantly, we’re in this world as a community of people needing the same things: to be loved, valued, and seen.

Memorial Day isn’t just the holiday that ushers in summer. It reminds us that we live in this country together. And together, we’re better than individually.

“We must dare to be great, and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.” Theodore Roosevelt

Are we going to be satisfied with less?