As a journalist, I spend a lot of time on my computer at home and generally my kids know not to interrupt me when I’m working; so it was a little surprising when my oldest son (Tim) came in recently to talk about something that was troubling him. As an extremely precocious eleven year old, with a naturally inquisitive mind, his concerns are rarely what you’d expect from a kid his age and such was the case in this instance. He explained that his teacher had taught them that the United States was not a “Christian Nation” and that it never really had been. This bothered Tim because we’d taught him that Christianity was an essential part of our national heritage. I tried to give him a quick answer about how it all depends on how you define the term “Christian Nation”, but that clearly didn’t resolve anything for him; so I decided to set aside my latest article and spend some time with him on this issue. Our conversation went something like this:
“If your teacher was simply saying that not every one of our forefathers was a Christian or that Christianity was never the official religion of America, then I agree with her. But if she was saying that Christianity, the Bible and God weren’t an essential part of what made this country what it was, then I’d disagree with her” I explained.
“But how could I prove that?” he asked.
After thinking about it for a minute, I replied, “As a reporter, I’ve found that the best way to get the real story is to go to the people who were there. If we could get an eyewitness account, we could probably arrive at the truth of the matter.”
Tim rolled his eyes in frustration, saying, “It’s going to be a little hard to get an interview with guys who’ve been dead for a couple hundred years.”
“It might be easier than you think,” I answered with a smile. I quickly keyed in an internet search of famous quotes from that time period and added, “We can chat with them on-line. You ask me your questions and I’ll try to get you a good answer from one of our forefathers”.
Though he looked skeptical, Tim eventually asked, “My teacher says that the early Americans left Europe to get away from religion, is that true?”
After scrolling through a few quotes, I said “Oh look, John Adams, the second president of the United States said, ‘We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion’; and Daniel Webster, another one of early America’s most influential leaders said, ‘Let us not forget the religious character of our origin’. And check this out; during the framing of the constitution, Benjamin Franklin quoted the Bible, saying, ‘Lest the Lord build the house, they labor in vain’ and when they were finished, James Madison added, ‘Without the intervention of God there never would have been a constitution’. These hardly sound like the words of people trying to get away from religion.”
Tim nodded in agreement, but then added, “My teacher admitted that many of the early American’s were from the Christian tradition, but she also said that they were careful not to include the teaching of the Bible into our laws. She said that they made sure that there would always be a separation of ‘Church and State’; is that true?”
Again I scrolled for a few seconds and replied, “John Quincy Adams, who was the son of John Adams and who became our sixth president said, ‘The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of civil government, with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration, they were bound by the laws of God, which they all and by the laws of the Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledge as the rules of their conduct’; and James Madison said, ‘We stake the future of this country on our ability to govern ourselves under the principles of the Ten Commandments’. Not so many years later, President Andrew Jackson added, ‘The Bible is the rock upon which our Republic rests’.”
Tim smiled slyly, saying, “It sounds like she was wrong about that too! She said that America’s success as a nation has nothing to do with morality, that it’s really just because democracy is such a good system of government. What would the forefathers say about that?”
I smiled at his enthusiasm and said, “Well, I’m sure they’d agree that democracy is a good form of government, but John Hancock said, ‘all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God Who rules in the armies of Heaven, and without Whose blessing the best human counsels are but foolishness-and all created power vanity.’ Daniel Webster said that, ‘If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity!’ And in the 1800’s, a man from France, named Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to study what made democracy work and he said that, ‘Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power’. He went on to conclude that, ‘America is great because America is good’.”
Tim smiled triumphantly and declared, “So my teacher was wrong, America is a ‘Christian Nation’!”
As much as I wanted him to believe that, I had to be honest and say, “Not necessarily son”.
A wave of confusion washed across his face, as I went on to explain, “Just because it was a part of our heritage doesn’t mean that it is who we are today. Mr. De Tocqueville said that if America ever ceased being good, it would also cease to be great; and when a historian asked the famous American poet and diplomat, James Russell Lowell, how long the American republic would endure, he replied, ‘As long as the ideas of the men who founded it continue to dominate’. Just like God’s people in the Bible, we can lose our freedom if we decide to live by our own ideas.”
Tim was clearly troubled by this and with his face slightly twisted, he asked, “How do we convince everyone to follow God?”
“The good news is that we don’t have to; God told the Israelites that, ‘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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” I replied.
“So if we follow God with all our hearts and pray, God will bless our country?” he asked.
“That’s the way I understand it” I replied. The smile returned to Tim’s face as he said, “Cool, I’m going to make sure I pray for that every day.”
“Good man” I replied; and as Tim headed out the door, he spun around and added, “I think I better pray for my teacher too.” I smiled back at him and said, “That’s my boy!”
Bjcorbin's Blog 
10 Thoughts for This Year’s Graduate
May 16, 2011 by bjcorbin
With our oldest child graduating this year, it’s hard to resist the urge to attempt to dispense some wise counsel for the future. Of course, at eighteen she’s probably not likely to hear much of what I’ve got to say; so I’ll offer this list for everyone else’s graduates. Hopefully she’ll room with one of them at college. [Note: Because good advice is timeless, this is an only slightly revised version of other lists I’ve written in recent years.]
1. Life is not a ride, it’s a journey. A ride is simply being carried along to wherever the vehicle happens to be going, while a journey has an ultimate destination, which requires some navigation and effort to complete. Unless we purpose in our heart to be someone, or to do something, we are likely to live life like a pinball; propelled by gravity, and bouncing from one obstacle to another. Anything worthwhile in life will require some investment on our part. Those who are unwilling to make such an investment will generally be pushed along by the winds of circumstance to some uncertain end.
2. Misery not only loves company, it wants to settle down and have children too. I’ve noticed that miserable people not only seek out other miserable people to bond with, but that they’ll often unconsciously sabotage anything that has the potential to pull them from their misery. There are few emotions that are as debilitating and self-sustaining as self-pity. Generally the only way to remain free of such feelings is through a dogged determination not to live that way. As long as we are willing to blame other people, and circumstances, for our condition, we will remain powerless to change it.
3. What other people believe about you isn’t as important as what you believe about yourself. Only the things which we genuinely believe have the ability to impact how we live. Therefore, the only words (positive or negative) that have the power to move us are those which we accept as truth. If a man concludes that he is a failure, no amount of praise or encouragement can bring him to victory; and if a man concludes that he is an over-comer, no amount of criticism can hold him back. While we are generally powerless to keep others from speaking about us, we possess the ultimate responsibility for what we are willing to accept as truth.
4. Planting apple seeds won’t get you an orange tree. Just as dependable as the law of gravity is the concept that we will reap (i.e. harvest) what we sow (i.e. plant). Though this phrase is immediately recognizable to most people, there are few who actually live as though it were true. Our human nature will often cause us to be unforgiving with other people, while expecting generosity in return; to be deceptive about our motivations, while expecting others to deal with us honestly; and to be selfish about our desires, while expecting others to be considerate of us. We must always remain conscious of the fact that the cup we use to dispense blessing is the cup that we will eventually drink our blessings from.
5. The path of least resistance is rarely a road worth taking. Often what causes something to be valuable is that it cannot be easily attained. It follows then that the most valuable things in life normally require some perseverance to apprehend. While everyone may sincerely want these kinds of things for their life (e.g. a healthy body, a strong marriage, a successful career…), few are willing to endure the process it takes to secure them. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that increasingly values convenience above quality, and in which many of our children have grown up with an expectation of the instant gratification of their desires. Many a parent has worked hard to ensure that their kids get a great education, so that these children won’t have to struggle like they did. But this ignores the fact that it is in the midst of the struggle that we tend to develop our character and work ethic; and that without this development we are generally ill equipped to handle adversity. I’ve found that you can teach someone with character and work ethic just about anything, but without those qualities, an education becomes of little value. I’ve also come to believe that giving my children everything that I didn’t have when I grew up will likely handicap them for life.
6. There are few jobs easier than being a critic and few that are more taxing than being a builder. I’m ashamed to admit that there have been times in my life when I’ve been like the guy who sits in the back of the classroom, ridiculing the person whose teaching the class. Playing the role of critic, while someone sincerely tries to have a positive influence on the people around them. While I might try to rationalize that their efforts were less than perfect, or maybe even in vain, life has taught me how little that criticism helps anyone. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and patience to bring unity where there has only been division, or to stir a group to battle, when they’ve only known defeat, or to restore a sense of hope to a place of desolation… The builder must make a concerted effort to create, while the critic can bring destruction with little effort. As a witness to, and a participant in, both of these processes, I’ve committed myself to spending the rest of my days being engaged in the building up, and not the tearing down.
7. No person or thing can “make you happy”. People can support us, love us, inspire us, and even enhance the quality of our life. But unless we determine within ourselves to find the joy, the beauty and the hope within our given circumstance, we will never be “happy”. The idea that it is someone else’s role to bring happiness into our life places tremendous pressure on our relationships, often causing them to fail (e.g. they just don’t make me happy anymore…). Similarly, material things do not have the ability to bring satisfaction to our souls. I’ve noticed that people who can be grateful for what they have today, will generally be that way regardless of what they have. And that people, who crave something more, will normally continue to crave regardless of what they get.
8. For everything there is a season and it’s important not to despise the season that you’re in. If you live long enough you notice that there is a sort of pattern that life follows and that things come and go in seasons. While we have a natural tendency to like some seasons better than others, I’ve found that every season comes with both challenges and blessings. If we focus on the challenges of the season we’re in, we’ll often miss the blessings, and spend our time pining away for the season to change. Conversely, if we focus on the blessings of each season, it makes the challenges easier to endure, and brings a sense of variety to the journey.
9. It’s hard to be Clint Eastwood if you’re really Mr. Rogers. As I was growing up my conception of what a man was came largely from my father, who was a big fan of men like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Throughout my adolescence there were other icons (e.g. John Travolta – Saturday Night Fever, Sly Stallone – Rambo, Don Johnson – Miami Vice…) who seemed to collectively shape the culture’s conception of manhood, and who I unconsciously graded myself against. Since I was nothing like these men I assumed that I just wasn’t much of a man, and in subtle ways I let their image affect how I walked, talked, dressed… But as I got older I began to notice that there weren’t many things less attractive than someone trying to be something that they’re not (e.g. a middle aged woman dressed like teenager; a suburban white kid acting as though he grew up in the ghetto; a man with a bad toupee, acting as though it is his natural hair…). I eventually came to peace with the understanding that regardless of the fact that I bear little or no resemblance to the trendy cultural images of manhood, the best thing I could do was to be myself. That catharsis has allowed me to do things like wear the clothes that I feel comfortable in; to act silly in public, just to make my kids laugh; to say “I love you too honey” when I hang up the phone in front of someone; to cry at sad movies…, all without feeling self conscious. I highly recommend it.
10. It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Experience teaches us that the road to victory is generally paved with some amount of defeat; and that how we respond to those defeats will generally determine whether or not we ever come to the place of victory. While victory tends to be the goal of every player, I’ve found that what we remember is how they played the game. It is not necessarily the player with the highest winning percentage that captures our imagination, it is the player who played unselfishly, or with integrity, or who overcame the biggest odds… Even for those who taste great victory, it is always in a moment that quickly passes into a lifetime of other moments. At the moment we pass from this life, it won’t be that moment of glory that matters most; it will be how we lived all the other moments that ultimately defines us.
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