This is a letter I wrote for my February Spiritual Newsletter. I write about a new Army Value each month to increase the knowledge o fmy soldiers about values. There is a great ignorance about values, ethics, and morals which undermines military leadership.
The Army defines duty as being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. It also says that we fulfill our duty as a part of our unit every time we resist the temptation to take “shortcuts” that might undermine the integrity of the final product. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines duty as a moral or legal obligation. The English word duty came about in the 13th Century from the Anglo-French word duete, and from the Old French word deu, which means "due, owed, proper, or just.” But as with most values and words, the Bible has provided us with a deep understanding of most words thousands of years before the US Army came into existence. So how did God use the word duty? Because once we understand this, then we can understand how to apply this value in our lives. In the Bible, Jesus used the word “duty” in Luke 17:10. In that scripture, Jesus talks of how faith and duty are closely related. The reference here is that a disciple of Christ should not expect special commendation for doing what is required. But they should serve God because this is what it means to follow Him as disciples. Jesus was saying it was a disciple’s duty and they shouldn’t be looking for an award for simply doing their duty. Jesus understood duty to mean to be under obligation. General Patton once said “If I do my full duty, the rest will take care of itself.” This is actually a very true statement. But how many know what their full duty entails? The Army further defines duty as not engaging in illegal and immoral actions. Which begs the question who defines what is moral. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the Bible was the source for determining what is moral and immoral. Our founding fathers and those who followed after them, quoted the Bible and often stated it as the standard for all moral law, which is one reason they felt like it was their duty to engrave the Ten Commandments into the walls of many buildings in Washington, D. C. Did you know that the first act of America's first Congress in 1774 was to ask a minister to open with prayer and to lead Congress in the reading of 4 chapters of the Bible? They understood this to be part of their duty. Also of note was the fact is that throughout American’s Founding, Congress frequently appropriated money for missionaries and for religious instruction, a practice that Congress repeated for decades after the passage of the Constitution and the First Amendment. So as soldiers what can we learn about our duties. We can learn that duty involves doing everything to the glory of God. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:17, “and whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving every thanks to God the Father (the Creator) through Him.” When we understand the God sees all things, we will not “cut corners,” cheat, lie, or be self-serving. Duty is about how you live.
The Army defines duty as being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. It also says that we fulfill our duty as a part of our unit every time we resist the temptation to take “shortcuts” that might undermine the integrity of the final product. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines duty as a moral or legal obligation. The English word duty came about in the 13th Century from the Anglo-French word duete, and from the Old French word deu, which means "due, owed, proper, or just.” But as with most values and words, the Bible has provided us with a deep understanding of most words thousands of years before the US Army came into existence. So how did God use the word duty? Because once we understand this, then we can understand how to apply this value in our lives. In the Bible, Jesus used the word “duty” in Luke 17:10. In that scripture, Jesus talks of how faith and duty are closely related. The reference here is that a disciple of Christ should not expect special commendation for doing what is required. But they should serve God because this is what it means to follow Him as disciples. Jesus was saying it was a disciple’s duty and they shouldn’t be looking for an award for simply doing their duty. Jesus understood duty to mean to be under obligation. General Patton once said “If I do my full duty, the rest will take care of itself.” This is actually a very true statement. But how many know what their full duty entails? The Army further defines duty as not engaging in illegal and immoral actions. Which begs the question who defines what is moral. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the Bible was the source for determining what is moral and immoral. Our founding fathers and those who followed after them, quoted the Bible and often stated it as the standard for all moral law, which is one reason they felt like it was their duty to engrave the Ten Commandments into the walls of many buildings in Washington, D. C. Did you know that the first act of America's first Congress in 1774 was to ask a minister to open with prayer and to lead Congress in the reading of 4 chapters of the Bible? They understood this to be part of their duty. Also of note was the fact is that throughout American’s Founding, Congress frequently appropriated money for missionaries and for religious instruction, a practice that Congress repeated for decades after the passage of the Constitution and the First Amendment. So as soldiers what can we learn about our duties. We can learn that duty involves doing everything to the glory of God. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:17, “and whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving every thanks to God the Father (the Creator) through Him.” When we understand the God sees all things, we will not “cut corners,” cheat, lie, or be self-serving. Duty is about how you live.
The USA was not founded as a Christian nation...
ReplyDeleteBecause religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual. State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion. Erecting the "wall of separation between church and state," therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society. We have solved ... the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving every one to profess freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions of his own reason and the serious convictions of his own inquiries
-Letter from Thomas Jefferson
"In the affairs of the world, men are saved not by faith, but by the lack of it."- Ben Franklin
Allow me to quote the man who God chose to lead our great nation:
Delete"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
George Washington
Our nation was absolutely founded on biblical values and
as a Christian nation.
It wouldn't take me long to prove that if I wanted to.
Visit www.wallbuilders.com and discover for yourself
With all do respect, I was under the impression that George Washington was elected by the Electoral College in the Election of 1792.
DeleteAs for the founding fathers (I went to wallbuilders.com)...there are quotes that do seem to support your position. There are also many quotes to the contrary. Here is one from Thomas Jefferson, which does not reject religion, but does reject the notion of a Christian Nation:
Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.
-Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom
From my research, it seems that many of the founding fathers were actually deists, instead of "true" Christians. I believe that if they were alive today, they would have gained enough knowledge of how the world works (i.e. biology, chemistry, and physics) that they would likely be Atheists. During their time they did not have access to the knowledge we have today and would, no doubt, have been persecuted for being Atheists.
As for proof, I think one should look no further than the Treaty of Tripoli, signed 04NOV1976 by President John Adams.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1796t.asp#art11
Article 11 states: "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."
Thoughts?
correction...date should be 1796
Delete