WORKING FOR JUSTICE
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
May 30, 2004
Text: 1 Kings 3:4-15
Hopefully, many of you recognize the source of some of the lyrics in the
song, America - Land of Liberty, that the choir sang:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
This poem is the inscription written upon our Statue of Liberty. Given as
a gift from France, our Statue of Liberty stands as a testament to our
standards of liberty, freedom, and justice. Even other nations have
recognized this over the course of our history. People work hard to
enter, not leave, the United States of America.
In spite of this well known fact about our belief in freedom, America is
under attack today on many fronts. There are attacks from the Islamic
jihad terrorists who want to enslave freedom-loving and peace-seeking
people around the world. They have chosen America as one of their primary
targets. Then there are the attacks from within. Some of Americas own
citizens criticize the actions that have been taken to defend this
nation, to preserve our freedoms, and to liberate others from the yolk of
tyranny. No matter where we turn, it is not difficult to come face to
face with those who would convince us that our involvement in Iraq, and
even Afghanistan, is wrong; that our involvement in these places is only
for the benefit of a few seeking profit from oil; and that we are
involved in a non-winnable quagmire of occupation.
I take what this nation does seriously. I may not be able to do much
about it one way or the other, but I do take it seriously. And always,
whenever we are engaged in a conflict like this, I ask myself if we are
doing the right thing. I honestly think that I would not experience as
much of an internal struggle if I were not a Christian. But I am, and so
I have to view world issues and struggles from the perspective of the
Christian faith. Am I right to say that I support my nations actions, or
should I express opposition to them?
As I stand before you today, I can honestly say that I believe two things
concerning these questions to myself. First, I believe that God still
wants to see justice prevail in His world. Second, I believe that the
attitudes and actions of our nation in this struggle are still reflective
of those words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
When Solomon succeeded his father, David, as King of Israel, he was given
an opportunity to ask for anything he wanted from God. Imagine! Anything
he wanted from the Holy God, Creator of the heavens and the earth. Talk
about unlimited potential. There in the ninth verse is Solomons request:
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to
distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great
people of yours? Solomons request was a benefit for his people, not for
himself alone. God was, to be frank, impressed. The Lord was pleased
that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, Since you have
asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have
asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering
justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and
discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor
will there ever be.
God desires that His people deal with one another justly. Solomon was
greatly rewarded by God because he sought to rule justly and wisely. Even
today, we use the phrase the wisdom of Solomon to describe someone who
has struck us as being particularly discerning. God desires justice. Turn
to Isaiah 61:8. For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and
iniquity. It doesnt get much plainer than that. In fact, nearly every
book of the Old Testament prophets makes a reference to Gods love of
justice and His anger toward injustice. As people of the New Covenant, we
know that Gods love for justice was lived out in Jesus. Jesus was
angered by those selling in the temple who took advantage of the
situation of many who were struggling to make ends meet by their
excessive charges for the required sacrificial animals and the conversion
of foreign money for the required shekel to pay the temple tax. God still
loves justice, and He wants His people to treat one another with justice.
This Memorial Day weekend, we are called to remember the sacrifices that
have been made for the cause of freedom. As I shared earlier, I take what
this nation does seriously. I take it seriously because I am a citizen of
this nation, and when people talk about America, they are talking about
me. I want to know that the sacrifices being made on behalf of this
nation are being made for the right reasons.
There is probably not a person here this morning who does not recognize
that we are far from perfect in our national actions. I will never try to
paint a picture in which America is free from flaws and even national
sins. We know of too many organizations made up of members who are
working to destroy the beliefs of Christians.
I say this because I want you to recognize that I am very much aware of
how far away from Gods holiness we are as both individuals and as a
nation. But I am not going to dwell on this reality this morning because
there is another reality also very much alive. I believe that the
attitudes and actions of our nation in this world wide conflict with
terrorism are still reflective of those words inscribed on the Statue of
Liberty. I believe that what we are doing around the world diplomatically
and militarily is reflective of our desire to liberate and to see as much
of the world as possible live with liberty, freedom, and justice. I
believe that those who are serving in places of peril are doing the right
thing, and I believe that our fellow citizens who have sacrificed so
dearly have not sacrificed in vain.
Our colonial founders were dismayed many times with the force that
England could bring to bear and at the hardships they were creating for
others and themselves, yet their belief in the ideals of personal liberty
was so strong that they continued to press ahead. President Abraham
Lincoln agonized over the cost of the conflict in the war between the
states, yet his belief in the preservation of the Union and the
disestablishment of the institution of slavery was so strong that he led
this nation in perseverance. A people wanting so much to remain neutral
in a conflict that was raging throughout much of the world finally
realized that there was no such thing as real neutrality in the face of
growing imperialism, and so entered into the conflict known as World War
One. Similarly, but with an even starker reality, America persevered
through World War Two with enormous sacrifice. And so it has gone: Korea,
Vietnam, Kuwait, and so many other theaters. Wherever America has
prevailed, the world has been better off. Why? Because we have always
sought not to conquer and oppress, but to liberate and free.
And so here we are today. Again, we are engaged in a conflict which is
not of our choice or making. We sought - and are seeking - to solve
significant differences through negotiation and diplomacy. We seek to
defend ourselves from the terror that enemies would visit upon us; we
seek to limit the horrors that tyrants impose upon their own peoples; and
we seek to overturn those who would do others harm through their
egomaniacal pursuits of international domination.
There are those who attempt to convince us that our presence in
Afghanistan and Iraq, in particular, is wrong. They attempt to convince
us that our national actions are wrong and that America is the nation of
aggressors and terrorists and that our men and women involved in those
nations, both military and civilian, are sacrificing in vain. To those
who attempt to convince us of such things, I respond that they are wrong,
and I make no apologies for my stand.
In both nations where we are engaged with military forces, we have taken
great pains to reduce the damage to non-military personnel and resources.
In so doing, we have taken on a greater risk to our own military
personnel. In both nations, Americans have not only conducted military
operations with distinction, but have responded to the needs of the
citizens of those nations - even those who fought against us - with care,
compassion, and justice. President Bush hosted at the White House last
week Iraqis who had been tortured by the Saddam Hussein regime. Hands
that had been amputated in that torture had been replaced with modern
prostheses by skilled American surgeons. We remain in those countries not
to occupy, control, and rule, but in order to establish stability and to
rebuild and to provide the people there with greater opportunities for
peace and prosperity than ever before. I believe that America still
stands for the ideals of peace and liberty and justice that are inscribed
on the Statue of Liberty and upon almost all of our founding documents
and historical papers written since then. I believe that, although we
have been moving farther away from the commands of God in these past few
decades, we fortunately still hear Gods Word calling us to be a people
of justice. And I believe that those sacrificing so much today are not
making those sacrifices in vain, but are living out the very principles,
ideals, philosophies, and beliefs that America has proudly stood for eve
since its foundation. May we always continue to be the people of a nation
who seeks the face of God, and who can honestly say, In God we trust.
Before we sing our closing hymn this morning, let us pause in a time of
remembrance and reflection for those who have given much for our national
heritage, for those who have been killed and wounded in this current
conflict, and for those who continue to live in peril for the sake of
preserving the freedoms that God Himself has bestowed upon us.
Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN
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