Independence Day

As I write this on the Fourth of July, I am sitting in the screened patio of my RV watching dozens of PWC’s and speedboats zoom hither and yon on a lovely little lake in West Michigan. I began to ask myself what we are celebrating. It occurs to me that the obvious consumer mentality is related to the history of our nation. Few people know that the text Thomas Jefferson used as a source for the Declaration of Independence was from John Locke, a British philosopher of his day. Locke originally declared the unalienable rights of man to be, “life, liberty, and property.”

By changing the wording to “pursuit of happiness,” Jefferson did not materially change the meaning. Happiness in 1776 meant “fortuitous circumstances,” not laughs all around. Fortuitous circumstances, fortunes, in 1776 were supported by property. Historians know that the signers of the Declaration and the subsequent Constitution were property owners interested in protecting their property rights against the King of England’s encroachment. The king was levying taxes that would reduce the profits the property owners would make from their investments. This was a significant part of the motivation to rebel against the king.

Of course, the British aristocracy were doing everything in their power to increase their “property” even if at the expense of the colonists’ property. The property owners in the colonies were incensed by the crown’s overreach, so they tried for years to plead on economic terms for leniency in taxation and other measures the king employed. The king, supported by his aristocratic friends, discounted all the colonists’ appeals. The Declaration of Independence was the result. Without doubt, there were other issues that came into play, but it appears to me that the economic pressures were primary.

Why, you ask, am I relating all this history on a blog about why Heaven matters. Here’s why. Jefferson was wrong, as was Locke. Property is not an unalienable right from God. Unless you are a descendant of Abraham living before the Cross of Christ, property is not a given. Land, houses, crops, herds were all promised to Abraham’s descendants. But at the Cross of Christ, all those promises were fulfilled and replaced with better promises. Read Hebrews. We have slipped the earthly bonds of the Abrahamic covenant and moved into the better promises of the New Covenant. Jesus Himself said that His followers would have to leave all those physical blessings behind and take up a cross to follow Him. His original listeners would not have envisioned a large investment account at the foot of the cross Jesus invited them to; they would have seen the execution He suffered as their fate.

So, when Paul and Peter say that we are to submit to the authorities that govern us, how does rebellion for economic ends comply? I am not going to make any friends here, but I suspect that the American Revolution was not founded on biblical ground. America was never God’s new Israel; it was always man’s attempt to recreate Eden in a materialistic model. (Who’s pounding the table right now?) Where on earth is the so-called prosperity gospel preached? America. Who besides Americans think we are the new Israel? Crickets? Americans are the wealthiest people on the planet. How much of our wealth are we sharing with the “least of these?”

Read the New Testament carefully. Use a concordance (or search engine) if you have one. You will find that finances are mentioned among the most frequent topics. Why? Because where your treasure is, there is your heart. I love America for the principles of freedom to choose that underlay her founding. But as believers, we cannot fall into the trap of materialism (as I have). My view from this RV is profligate from a third world standard. As you wave the flag and shoot the fireworks, ask yourself where your true allegiance lies. Are you an ambassador from another kingdom, or are you a dupe in the enemy’s plan to win us all to the god of materialism?

The original sin in Eden was the desire of God’s people to be independent. They didn’t want God to dictate the terms of their existence. He offered prosperity beyond their wildest dreams if they remained dependent on Him, but they believed the lie that they could master their own reality by breaking free of God’s demands. Are you celebrating Independence Day independent from God?