Loving America

 Most people would nod their head and agree with me if I said to them, “If they hear it enough, most people believe what they constantly hear about and tell themselves, don’t they?”. Self-talk has gotten me through some very difficult times in my life, and while it is not a permanent fix, it can be a great tool for setting your thinking in the right direction. It was not until I was 24 years old that I realized that people will always be flawed, and that in order to put my faith into something rock-solid and true, I would have to start believing what God said about me more than what my peers, parents, co-workers and even my self said about me. That was such a liberating epiphany, and to this day it provides confidence and gratitude beyond what I could conjure up on my own.

I have been wondering a lot lately if that same principle can be applied to things other than human beings. After all, if I am truly to believe that God loves all creation, then I have to believe what He says about it all, not just people. I often feel very alone and frustrated in my love for my country. The 4^th of July is my second favorite holiday after Christmas, and I am one of those who gets goose bumps during every national anthem I hear and tend to cry when I watch fireworks. Red, White and Blue make me warm and fuzzy inside and seeing a bald eagle is still awe-inspiring. I buy a new flag every year for my house (stupid Oklahoma wind always tears them up) and know that while Ryan rolls his eyes at me for it, he secretly enjoys putting it out for me every summer.

Have you ever noticed (and hated yourself for it) that we tend to treat those we love the most the worst sometimes? Why is that? I think one of the reasons is that we love too hard. We love to control things and we put a lot of effort and energy into molding our lives into what we think it should be. When we love something so much and they don’t respond the way we think they should, or return our love as fiercely, or even turn their backs on us, that is when we snap the hardest, don’t you think? I can totally see myself down the road when Aubrey is a teenager reacting this way to her (although I will try not to and hope you all hold me accountable to that). My biggest disappointments will come when she doesn’t behave as a lady should (I really, really, really don’t want her to be who I was as a teenager), or when I realize that I failed to teach her something vital, or when she chooses a path that is different than the one I would have chosen. And how could I not? She is a part of me. Someone once said that motherhood is so scary because you constantly have your heart walking around outside of you. 

It is for this very reason that I think people love to hate America. She has not turned out to be quite what she was created to be, and for this reason, her people are disappointed, disillusioned and, at least from what I see in my circles, ready to give up on her. I am not one of those Christians who believe that America is blessed of God more than any other nation. I cannot explain to you why we have so many “blessings” (conveniences) while a country full of people that God has to love just as much as us, like Darfur, is plagued by civil war, rape, murder and starvation. But I do believe that I can have purpose and opportunity to help people in a country like Darfur precisely because I live in America. 

My only relief to the guilt that can rise up every time I read the news is that while I do feel blessed to live here, I in no way deserve it more than anyone else. I have an added responsibility to care for my neighbor. Decisions I make every day that can seem so small, like where my coffee comes from, can ultimately affect people in other countries who don’t have the options that I do. I also have the hope that in the end, God will set all of the injustices of the world right, and true heaven on earth will come not from mansions in the sky and eternal praise and worship, but from a truly perfect earth with a truly Just ruler. 

So, who is wrong? The person who loves too hard or the person who hates too hard? If they both have the same outcome, does it really matter? Our country turns 233 years old this weekend. As the people responsible for shaping and molding her, do we criticize her so much because she is not what we think she should be? At some level, we are all at fault for the state of her existence today. But instead of getting mad or constantly berating her, shouldn’t we take a look at ourselves? After all, that is something that is great about this country- the ability to change our circumstances. The American Dream shouldn’t be about getting a big house, car, or having a bunch of “stuff”. The American Dream is something that we can all live out- the fact that if you work hard and live nobly, you can create a good life for yourself and your family, and hopefully have some sort of positive eternal impact on this earth and your neighbor. My own family is a living example of this. Next time you want to put down your homeland, why don’t you take a look at yourself first? You might just see that your problem is not the country you live in, but the people and decisions you surround yourself with. 

I love poetry. I see poetry in things I read or in songs I hear. Take a moment to read this song as a poem, and to realize that while she has her faults, America is still a beautiful place. She is a result of the wonderful creativity of our God, a pursuit of pilgrims who would give their lives for the freedom to proclaim the good news and a dream of many for a better life.

America the Beautiful / Words by Katharine Lee Bates, Melody by Samuel Ward
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!
O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!
O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man’s avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

My favorite line is “Till selfish gain no longer stain the banner of the free”. It is irresponsible to neglect the opportunities this land has given us. It is self-destructive to merely sit there and pick apart all that is wrong with this country we belong to. There is a way to embrace America while promoting and portraying the bigger picture of what we are to become as Christians. Being a Christian in America may be more convenient, but it is not easier and we still face the challenge of living in this world while not being of it. 

I’d like to ask you to quit whining about this country. Like a beaten woman who starts to believe the lies she’s told every day, America is slowly becoming what we say about her. One day she will wake up and realize how far she is from her roots and her purpose, and the blame will rest squarely on our abusive heads. Build her up and love her while correcting the waywardness of her path. No one has ever blossomed into what their true purpose is from constant nagging, beating and misplaced appreciation. Think what she might become if we sang the words above to her and she actually started to believe them!