Happy Birthday USA, Part 1

This coming Fourth of July is our country’s 235^th birthday. Happy birthday! Interestingly, the cover of the July 4, 2011 issue of Time magazine shows a shredded Constitution and asks the question: “Does it still matter?” The tone of the cover article makes Time's answer to that question obvious—no.

The author, Richard Stengel, begins his article by telling us all the things our founding fathers were unaware of saying, "Here are a few things the framers did not know about: World War II. DNA. Sexting. Airplanes. The atom. Television. Medicare. Collateralized debt obligations. The germ theory of disease. Miniskirts. The internal combustion engine. Computers. Antibiotics. Lady Gaga."

The point of the article and one made repeatedly by people who desire to remove our Constitution as the basis for our government, is that the Constitution can be admired, but it’s outdated and has served its purpose. Advocates of this idea don’t understand how a document written over 200 years ago can adequately govern a modern country.

But what opponents of our Constitution don’t understand is that the principles of government laid out in the Constitution were already “outdated” in 1787. For example, the basic concepts of separation of powers and federalism were already well-established features of republican governments in ancient Greece and Rome. 

So why did our founding father’s believe these old ideas would meet the needs of an18th-century population? Simply put, they understood that these principles are timeless. The principles in our Constitution help root us in common sense, personal freedom and responsibility. The principles incorporated into our Constitution keep us from the slippery slope of fashionable political trends and power hungry politicians. One thing that does limit the power of our Constitution is that it was meant for a godly and moral people; thus the fall of ancientGreece and Rome.

John Adams, the second President of the United States said “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” And our first President, George Washington, declared, “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." If someone in government said this today the ACLU would be screaming from the roof top, but Washington and Adams were right.

Here is a promise that God made to the nation of ancient Israel “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)." The best gift we can give our country on its birthday is to pray for it and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.