If you follow the NFL at all, you know that there has been on ongoing controversy surrounding certain players who decided to not stand during the singing or playing of our national anthem at the beginning of the game. And recently the NFL instituted a new rule that stated that all players on the field during the singing of the national anthem had to remain standing. I have found it rather interesting that the instigator of this controversy remains currently unemployed as an NFL player, but even more interesting to me is the fact that he, and the majority of those who did not stand for the anthem, chose to kneel during the anthem in protest.
Maybe I am a little out of touch with current trends, but last I knew, kneeling was something you did when in the presence of royalty, when you came before kings and queens. So I have found it ironic that those who choose to not honor the anthem by standing for it, chose to dishonor the anthem by kneeling before it!
Think about that for a moment. We stand in honor of the bride at a wedding. We stand when a judge comes into a courtroom. We stand when the president enters the room. We stand to show respect. However, we kneel before power. We kneel when we worship.
Kneeling, in my humble opinion, is actually a sign of greater respect. It is sometimes tradition in a church setting to stand for the reading of God’s Word, and to kneel for prayers to the Author of that Word. Which is more powerful? The Writer, or the Writing? Of course, the Writer! We kneel when we bring our prayers into God’s presence.
It seems pretty likely that not even one person from the state of Montana was consulted by the NFL commissioner or owners when they decided to institute the new rule requiring players to stand for the national anthem, but if for some reason they would have asked me, I would have said by all means, allow kneeling, because it is a greater show of respect and honor than standing!
As we celebrate the founding of our nation this Independence Day, we will have the opportunity to show respect to our flag. The flag of the United States of America represents the original 13 colonies, the current 50 states and the colors represent hardiness, valor, purity, innocence, vigilance, perseverance and justice. These are all things that contributed to the greatness of America and I applaud the greatness of America.
We hear this slogan “Make America Great Again” and I am in favor of striving to improve the greatness of America. However, there is greater purpose to strive for than the greatness of America and that is to proclaim the greatness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
America is a great nation but America does not have the corner on greatness. There are many great nations in the world and nations that have greatness in areas that even America is lacking in, but Jesus Christ has the corner on greatness and the religious freedom that we have here to worship Jesus Christ is the greatest thing about our country that we can celebrate this Independence Day.
So as you celebrate, remember that He made nations possible, He who came to save the world from its sin, He who died and rose again on the third day, is the One to thank for the freedoms we enjoy today that were won by cannons a couple of hundred years ago. Happy July 4th!
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