TEMPTATIONS AMERICANS FACE

TEMPTATIONS AMERICANS FACE

Feelings of patriotism tend to flow rather freely at this time of the year. When we sing the "Star Spangled Banner," or hear a choir sing about America & the freedoms that we enjoy, we often want to stand up & salute or just do something to show that we’re proud of our nation.

Sometimes we hear patriotic speeches which contain that ringing phrase, "I’m proud to be an American!" And we echo those sentiments, too. But think about it for a moment. Maybe what we ought to be saying is, "I’m grateful that I’m an American!"

A father was talking with his rather rebellious son one day & said, "Every person who lives in the United States is a privileged person." The boy answered, "I disagree." And the father replied, "That’s the privilege."

We have the privilege to disagree. We have the privilege to speak our mind. We have freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, and the right of petition. We have the freedom to hope & dream & pursue our dreams. We are free in so many ways!

We have these rights because of what our forefathers have done. You & I didn’t earn the privileges that we enjoy as citizens of this land. But let’s be thankful for those who did earn them & passed them on to me, & that is what we should celebrate on the 4th of July.

During the 1800’s, a French political philosopher, visited our nation seeking to uncover the secret of our greatness. He traveled from town to town, asking questions, examining every facet of our society, & then wrote his conclusions in a book.

Here is something he wrote:

"I sought for America’s greatness. I found it not in her fields & forests. I found it not in her mines & factories. I found it not in her Congress & great tribunals. It was only when I entered her churches & heard her pulpits thundering against sin & preaching righteousness that I discovered her greatness. America is great because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

Folks, if we put our trust in education, we’ll get what education can give us. If we put our trust in money, we’ll get what money can give us. If we put our trust in government, we’ll get what government can give us. But if we put our trust in God, we’ll have everything we need, for all eternity.

A few years ago a picture of the historic flag designed by Betsy Ross appeared on the front page of a Chicago newspaper, & underneath it was this caption, "It’s time to check our stitches again."

Maybe it is time for us to check the stitches & to make sure that we are still the home of the brave, & the land of the free.

Let’s look at three temptations that Americans are facing today.

I. TEMPTATION TO ENJOY FRUITS OF CITIZENSHIP WITHOUT TENDING TREE OF LIBERTY

The first is this, there is a very strong temptation to enjoy the fruits of citizenship without tending the tree of liberty.

There was a sermon a number of years ago entitled "Parking on Someone Else’s Nickel." Now obviously the sermon is pretty old because you don’t park anyplace for a nickel anymore. But the point is true. Here is part of sermon:

I have a friend whose home town had only one street with parking meters on it. He says that when he was a teen-ager he remembers driving up & down Main street looking for a place to park.

There were always plenty of parking places because not too many people lived in his town. But not just any parking place would do. He always looked for one that still had time left on its parking meter.

And when he didn’t find it going down one side, he would make a U-turn & go back the other. He might burn up a gallon of gas looking for a parking meter with some time left on it. But when he wheeled into one that still had 30 minutes left it made his day. He was parking on someone else’s nickel!

Could this be a problem in our country today? Most of us haven’t earned the freedoms we enjoy. We didn’t go to foreign lands & fight for them. We have not shed our blood & sweat & tears for them. We are parking on someone else’s nickel.

A writer expressed it this way. "We eat from orchards we did not plant. We drink from wells we did not dig. We reap from fields we did not sow. We are warmed by fires we did not kindle. We are sheltered by roofs we did not build. We are blessed by moneys we did not give." We are thankful to be a citizen of these great United States. But as a citizen, we have a responsibility to tend the tree of liberty.

Is the world a better place because we are a citizen of this country? Is our community a better place because we are a part of it? Is our church a better church because we are a member of it? What are we doing?

Or are we enjoying the fruits, but not tending the tree of liberty?

II. TEMPTATION TO ENJOY BENEFITS OF CAPITALISM WHILE IGNORING CONSCIENCE

There is a second temptation & that is to enjoy the benefits of capitalism while ignoring the cries of conscience. It’s okay that we live in a capitalistic country. Capitalism is not dirty word. Capitalism means free market. We are free to buy, sell, make a profit - to earn our own living.

But capitalism without conscience becomes a cruel & ruthless form of life where competition & success & greed & materialism corrupt & we lose our concern for others.

You see, when our forefathers came to this country & founded our system of government, they were convinced that there was a Higher Power who was involved in the destinies of men & nations. They believed that men were endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights - & that among these were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This was evident in the way they wrote, the way they lived, & the way our nation developed. There was a moral fiber, a moral strength in our nation.

But today it seems that by & large our society is so caught up in greed & materialism that we’re only interested in ourselves. It is survival of the fittest, & all we’re concerned about is making more & more. The result is increased crime, increased drug addiction, increased immorality.

A man sent a letter to Ann Landers. He wrote, "This is for the woman who was distressed about her son. I would like to ask her some questions about the boy. Is he disrespectful? Has he been arrested for drunk driving? Has he been kicked out of college for cheating? Has he made his girl friend pregnant? Does he get failing grades? Does he steal money from your purse?"

"If you can answer `No’ to all these questions, stop complaining. You have a great kid." It was signed, "Ralph N., Oakland, CA."

Here is how she answered him.

She replied, "Your letter showed just how much times have changed. You said that if a kid today isn’t on drugs, doesn’t get failing grades, hasn’t been arrested for drunk driving, or kicked out of college for cheating, hasn’t made his girl friend pregnant, or stolen from your purse, that he’s great. But you make no mention of achievement. There’s not a word about integrity, a sense of responsibility, decency, morality or service to others."

Then she went on to add, "What a sad commentary on our times. Good Lord, where is our nation headed, & who is going to lead us there?"

The soul of America is God, & we’re in danger of losing our soul!

III. TEMPTATION TO WANT CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT COMMITMENT

Our 3rd temptation is to want Christianity without commitment. We are not talking about an emotional experience. We’re talking about a commitment & surrender to God that results in a changed heart & life.

For too long there have been churches who have felt that it’s all right for nice little people to get together in their Sunday best, & listen to pleasant choir specials & little sermons that make them feel good about themselves & their homes & families & relationship to God.

"Just tell me how nice I am, how pretty I am, how righteous I am. Give me Christianity, but don’t talk to me about conversion. I don’t want to change. I want to remain exactly the way I am."

Somehow along the way, in our celebration of independence & freedom, we have forgotten the greatest freedom of all. Jesus Christ went to the cross & gave His life to gain our freedom from sin. And that is a message that you & I & our country needs to hear again & again today.

So let’s salute the flag. Let’s allow our patriotic juices to flow freely, & get goose pimples up & down our spine. But remember this, we didn’t earn our freedoms. We may not even deserve them.

Folks, hopefully we are humbly thankful to be a part of this great land of ours, & that we do not take our citizenship lightly, but be determined to hold high the freedoms we enjoy so that the generations that follow us will experience & treasure them also.

And the prayer today is that we will be a real Christian who is hungry & thirsty for the truth of God, & that we will never compromise it, but share it with a world that desperately needs to hear the only truth that can guarantee our freedom for all eternity.