FOUNDED FREEDOM

(Post by: Lilly Hobbs)

The news, hatred, riots, the virus, they all have one job. To take us away from our founded freedom; founded in God not man. I feel like it’s time to connect the dots here. We’ve been trained to think that wanting freedom is selfish, and I guess I should even say not very “submissive” like. I believe that’s the lie the enemy is specifically trying to use against believers today. This hit me as I was writing an essay this week for the government college class I’m taking this semester. I’d like to share that essay with you, as it goes along with a truth God laid on my heart to share with y’all this week…

Week 1 Government Essay

“The reasons for studying government vary greatly from person to person, each one having their own personal motivations and convictions. However, I believe we can all agree that we should study government so that we can remain true to the original intent of the Constitution. Our freedom is worth fighting for, because the United States is unlike any other nation. President Ronald Reagan (1964) once said, “If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.” America is indeed exceptional.

Another reason to study government would be for the purpose of becoming better citizens than we are at the present. In order to become a better citizen, we must understand what our actual freedoms are, how government is intended to work, and the things we should pursue as  Americans. We must be an informed people. The reason we have seen such a decline in patriotism and American exceptionalism is because people are uneducated about the founding of our great country and are listening to the mainstream media that tells us that our country is contemptible. We will lose our freedom if we, as Americans, do not educate ourselves regarding government. I saw great truth in the article by Roger Pilon that we were assigned to read. The article’s ending statement was this, “At stake are nothing less than our liberty and the legitimacy of our legal affairs’’ (Pilon, 1999).

The United States is a country that has been shown God’s favor more than any other nation (Wallbuilders, 2019). We cannot afford to stray from those spiritual convictions that our Founding Fathers valued so much. Great American patriots such as John Quincy Adams, Sybil Ludington, and Nathan Hale had a passion for liberty within them. I find it hard to believe that they were just extremely ambitious souls. I believe that they had a passionate, God-given spirit within them. They were Americans who knew that there was something about liberty that was worth dying for.

Even our own people take for granted the great American experiment that has not failed us yet. According to WallBuilders (2019), the average length of a nation’s constitution is only 17 years. The American Constitution is over 230 years old and is still the greatest system in the world.

Ronald Reagan (1987) also made a powerful point in favor of studying government when he said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.” These are the reasons why we should study government; why it is of the utmost importance. Even now we see a generation trying to erase history by disrespecting our flag, taking a knee during the national anthem, and destroying historical monuments. Things I never thought I would see or experience in my lifetime.

I personally run a ministry called The Few, and we do a lot of our ministry on social media. A couple of months ago, I posted a picture on Facebook with two of my friends. One happens to be Asian and the other one is an African American. In that specific post, I brought up how there are still people that love other people, no matter the color of their skin or popularity status. About two weeks later, I posted another picture stating that ALL people are precious in God’s sight.

We received such an amazing response from those posts and gained many new followers because of the amount of people spreading the word and sharing the posts to their own social media pages. However, about a week later, I noticed a significant decrease in the amount of likes and shares that we were receiving. After looking into the actual statistics that Facebook provides us, I realized that it was not because people didn’t like what we were posting or because we lost a huge amount of followers, but because we had been censored. The reason I share this experience with you is because if I had no knowledge of The Bill of Rights and the freedoms ensured by it, I would have no idea that the First Amendment gives me the right to freedom of speech.

Now, more than ever, Americans must educate themselves regarding their rights and be reminded that government was established to work for the people. (Lilly Hobbs 2020)

Many of us ask ourselves how we can “fix” our country. After doing much research and thinking this week, God showed me the one solution. If we are not living how God wants us to live and pursuing the truth in our everyday life, then our nation will never be “fixed”. Want to know why? Because you are the Nation. Just like you are the Church.

Remember how I said earlier that it was time to connect the dots? Well it’s true. We will fall and our nation will fall without God at the center of lives. We’ll fix our nation when you and I make God our only priority. Which in turn will affect those around us.

Don’t just be an American. Be a God-fearing American.

“…Test me in this” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Armies. “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Armies.”  (Malachi 3:10-12)

SO WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

= In what ways are you putting God first?

= Do you find yourself thinking that freedom (in God and as a country) is selfish?

= What are you going to do differently?