Pledges

Once upon a time, Vacation Bible School (VBS) lasted a week, took place in the morning, and featured a highly structured opening assembly. During the assembly, the pianist would play a “stand up chord” (a major lift) and a “sit down chord” (a minor fall) to signal us when we were to—well, to stand up or sit down.

Early in the ceremony, the pianist would play the stand up chord and we’d rise for the pledges. We said three. We’d pledge allegiance to the Christian flag. You may not know there is a Christian flag, much less a pledge to it, so, as a public service, here are the words to the pledge:

I pledge Allegiance to the Christian Flag and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands, one brotherhood uniting all mankind in service and love.

That’s the version I learned. Sometime during my childhood, our Southern Baptist VBS guide led us to stop saying “mankind.” “Good,” you might be thinking. “’Humankind’ is less sexist.” Well, no, that’s not what changed; in fact, we kept right on saying “brotherhood.” We changed “mankind” to “Christians.” I reckon we were more concerned about flirting with universalism than we were with engendering sexism.

We’d also pledge allegiance to the Bible. That pledge went like this:

I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's holy word, and will make it a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and hide its words in my heart that I may not sin against God.

Over the fifty or so years that I’ve lived since those days, I’ve encountered lots of adults who pledge allegiance to the Bible, but who seem to have little allegiance to—or even awareness of—what it says, and especially of what it means.

I’ve seen lots of people who profess to be Christians who will, with great passion bordering on glee, beat you about the head with the Bible if you won’t join them in swearing allegiance to it.

I’ve seen many people whose lives reflect the Savior who shows us what the words of the Bible mean but who won’t, out of their commitment as Christians, swear allegiance to the Bible, be vilified by people who swear such allegiance but whose lives exhibit little to none of the love and grace of Jesus.

Sometimes people who swear allegiance to the Bible embody its teachings much less than others who won’t swear allegiance to it.

It’s hard to accept that someone is loyal to the Bible when he or she exhibits hate instead of love, prefers conflict over reconciliation, and utters falsehoods rather than truth. It’s easier to believe that someone who exhibits love, seeks reconciliation, and speaks truth believes the Bible, even if she or he won’t swear allegiance to it.

It’s ironic, isn’t it?

We also pledged allegiance to United States flag in our VBS assembly.

I think I’ve heard some talk lately about how some people respond to that flag and how other people respond to those who respond. Maybe you’ve heard it too.

Sometimes it seems that people who say they take the flag seriously may not take that “liberty and justice for all” line quite as seriously. And sometimes it seems that people who have some reservations about pledging allegiance to the flag have more allegiance to “liberty and justice for all” than those who criticize them.

It’s ironic, isn’t it?

As for me—well, I’ll pledge allegiance to the flag. I’ll also stand for the National Anthem.  In doing so, I’m pledging allegiance to the republic whose goal is to make liberty and justice available to all and to be a land where all are free to strive for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I do so recognizing that some who choose to act differently than I do may be doing so to help us think about just how far we have to go in becoming “the land of the free” where “liberty and justice” are truly “for all.”

Some Brief Observations on Judeo-Christian Values

We hear the phrase “Judeo-Christian values” from time to time, often from the mouths of politicians seeking to curry favor with some gullible or misguided audience.

It might set you to wondering what those values are.

Based on what some of those audiences promote and cheer, we might conclude that they think that Judeo-Christian values involve protecting your right to say “Merry Christmas” while refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding while advocating for a nuclear attack on North Korea.

I have a different sense of what Judeo-Christian values involve.

Let’s hear from some experts on the subject.

Rabbi Hillel was one of the most important teachers of Judaism. He was active from around 30 BCE until about 10 CE. One day a man told Hillel that he would convert to Judaism if the rabbi could teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel replied, “That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."

When someone asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is, Jesus replied, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk 12:30-31).

The Apostle Paul said, “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:14).

To conclude: if your Judeo-Christian values aren’t based on doing right by other people and wanting what’s best for them, they may be values, but they aren’t Judeo-Christian.

Fifty-Nine and Not Holding

Now hear this: I turned fifty-nine a few days ago. Math was never my strong suit, but I’m pretty sure that’s one less than sixty. I’ll hit that milestone next year, Lord willing.

I’ve reached the point in life at which many folks start slowing down as they move toward retirement.

Not me. I’m just getting cranked up.

Before I say anything else about that, let me state that if it all ends tomorrow, I’ve already had a better life than I ever hoped or dreamed I’d have. I have a good wife, remarkable children, and a fine grandson. I’ve had a fulfilling and varied career and I love the job and side projects I have now. I’ve had and have many good friends. I’ve seen a lot of places. I’ve had a lot of experiences, some bad and most good. I have no complaints. It’s been a full life and I’m grateful for every second of it.

But if the Lord gives me more years and at least moderately good health, I have no intention of throttling back. There’s just too much to do, too much to learn, and too much to be.

I’m going to keep growing until I draw my last breath.

I want to learn to speak at least one more language (I’m torn between Spanish and Arabic. I may do both). I want to fill in the gaps in my education, especially in science. I want to read five thousand more books. I want to see more of the world.

I want to write a novel. I want to write the lyrics to one song that at least one person records. I want to write one poem that gets published. I’ve written one memoir, but I want to write another one.

I’m privileged to teach two groups of freshmen at Gordon State College. They’re forty years younger than I am. When I look at them, I think about how they have so many years ahead of them. I remember how, when I was their age, life seemed to stretch out so far ahead of me I could scarcely imagine that the road had an end.

Now I realize there’s a stop sign up ahead that I can’t avoid. But I can and will ignore the yield signs that I’ll encounter along the way.

I admit to some frustration. I know I won’t get everything done I want to do. I know some of my goals will remain unmet and some of my dreams will go unfulfilled.

But I’ll tell you this:  I’m going to have a good time trying. And when it’s all over, no one will be able to say I wasted my time.

I don’t know what I’ll die of, but it won’t be boredom.

And I don’t know what I’ll die with, but it won’t be regret.

Loving Our Neighbors

I’ve been thinking about what it means to love someone.

Jesus said that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. So I reckon if we’re going to love somebody that way, we need to know how we love ourselves.

To love myself means that I want what’s best for me. I want to be the best version of me that I can possibly be. Because I love myself, I want to build on my strengths and I want to strengthen my weaknesses. I want to face my mistakes, failures, and insufficiencies so I can become a better person. I want to live up to my potential. I want to live out my ideals.

So if I love my neighbors as I love myself, I want what’s best for them. I want them to be all they can be. I want them to succeed and even to thrive. I want them to be the best possible versions of themselves. And I want all of that for them as much as I want it for me. I want the fullest life I can have and I want them to have the fullest lives they can have.

There’s a point at which this gets a little dicey, though.

It’s one thing for me to call myself out on my mistakes and failings and to challenge myself to be and do better. It’s another thing for me to call my neighbors out on theirs and to challenge them. They may dare to think that it’s none of my business.

But living in community requires that we take a certain amount of responsibility for each other. To want the best for others requires that we try to help each other understand the ways in which we are not living up to our potential so we can try to do better.

With all of that in mind, how should we show our love for our country, for our communities of faith, and for our families? If we adopt the stance that loving them means believing they can do no wrong, we don’t really love them. But if we want them to face up to their shortcomings so they can move toward being the best version of themselves they can be, then we really do love them.

To love ourselves means that we want what’s best for us. It also means that we’ll do what we need to do to achieve that goal. To love our neighbors as we love ourselves means that we want what’s best for them. It also means that we’ll do what we need to do to help them achieve that goal.

Whether we stand or kneel, whether we resist or support, and whether we speak out or remain silent, our motivation matters. It is possible for love or something far less than love to motivate someone to take the stand she or he takes. If someone’s heartfelt desire is to help the nation be the best nation it can be, then their motivation is sound. It is always possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. It is even possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason. We also will do well to evaluate our own motivation before we go judging someone else’s.

As the Apostle Paul said, no matter what great things I do, if I don’t have love, “I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).

If we are motivated by love, then we do whatever we do because we want to help our neighbors realize and pursue their ideals so they can be the best Americans, the best people of faith, or the best family members they can be. That effort might involve the hard and painful work of pointing out how we don’t live up to our ideals.

How would things be different if love, defined as wanting the best for our neighbors just as we want it for ourselves, motivated our perspectives on, opinions of, and actions toward our fellow Americans?

How would things be different if that same kind of love motivated our leaders? What might they do if they love the people they are elected to represent?

How would love respond to people’s need for quality affordable health care?

How would love respond to the epidemic of mass murder in our society?

How would love respond to the danger posed to people because of ongoing damage to the environment?

How would love respond to the injustice experienced by far too many people?

Motives matter. 

I challenge you to love your neighbors as you love yourself. I challenge you to want the best for them just as you want it for yourself.

I challenge our leaders to love the American people more than you love your egos, your political parties, your dogmas, your ability to stay in office, and your corporate benefactors.

Folks, if our leaders don’t try to work together to do what is best for us and what will give us greater freedom to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then they don’t love us.

And next election, we should replace them with people who do.

Do it because you love yourself.

Do it because you love your neighbors as you love yourself.