LEARNING DAILY

 

Ephesians 6:11, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (NKJV)

 

Ronald Reagan once said, “If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”  Today we honor those men and women who served and protected our nation.  I am thankful and proud of those in my family and so many of my friends who have served in our nation’s military.  The various wars and military engagements our military have been involved with proves that “Freedom is not Free”.

 

Freedom is one of those terms or beliefs that people have made into something it is not.  For example, freedom is not a right to do whatever a person wants to do.  Men and women did not defend our country so that people could go into someone’s store and take whatever they want without paying for it.  One’s freedom ends when he/she intrudes on the freedom of someone else.  Therefore, freedom is a privilege not a right that each of us has.  Each of should enjoy the freedom God has given us by not taking advantage of it.  I knew of a successful basketball coach who studied the rules for the game so we much because he wanted to be able to use them to his advantage.  That’s not cool!

 

The freedom that men and women fought for over the years is very important to remember.  We must not allow those who lead this country take it away from us.  Think of what is being done by U.S. leadership that is taking our freedom away; is this something the people really want?  Even in this, the freedom we have is not to be based on the circumstances we face.  The apostle Paul spent much of his life in prison; he wrote much of the New Testament from there.  John wrote The Revelation from the island of Patmos as a prisoner there.  As a Christian, our freedom comes from Christ alone.  He has set us free from the bondage of sin and death.

 

One other consideration about this freedom we have.  It does not guarantee happiness.  Too many have the idea they are entitled to happiness.  I was always amazed when teaching economics that students had no concept about money.  When discussing budgeting, each student seemed to think they would start life after graduation in a better financial situation that their parents.  Entitled means one believes he/she is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.  Think about what we are seeing today.  Are those who enter the country illegally really entitled to the amount of money our government is considering giving to them?  Does anyone see a problem with this type of entitlement?  Even spiritually speaking we are not guaranteed happiness or an easy life.  We are guaranteed however that the Lord will be with us in every circumstance filling us with His peace and the joy of His presence.

 

I close with a saying I saw at store the other day.  “Stand for the flag; kneel for the cross”.  It seems we have gotten that backwards!  Thank you to my friends who are veterans.  You are greatly appreciated, my friends!  To all my brothers and sisters in Christ, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  I’ll discuss this in the next page of the blog.