America is not perfect. But America is beautiful.
Our country is full of beautiful mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, trees, fields, plants, and animals.
Our country has magnificent cities, amazing small towns, and peaceful rural communities.
Our country is full of beautiful people from every background. Each possess different ideas, passions, talents, and skills. These combined qualities have led to unbelievable innovations in agriculture, communication, education, engineering, health care, manufacturing, technology, transportation, food, arts, and entertainment.
We have the freedom to speak our minds. Freedom to have differing opinions. Freedom to pursue opportunities. Millions gave their lives for us to enjoy these freedoms. They sacrificed more than we can imagine. Millions more have served and are still serving today to protect us and the freedoms we enjoy.
However, there is suffering, pain, and injustice all over this country. There always has been. There are things that happened in our history that were wrong. There are things happening in our current time that are wrong. There will be things in our future that will be wrong. This country has never been “perfect.” We are full of imperfect, broken people who make mistakes. Every country is.
Slavery is wrong. Racism is wrong. Sexism is wrong. Abuse is wrong. Violence is wrong. Hating someone because they are different from you is wrong. Hating someone because they believe differently is wrong. Hating someone for any reason is wrong.
It is important that we stand up and speak up for truth and morality. If we do not use Truth as the foundation of this country, we will fail. But we cannot speak truth without love, empathy, humility, patience, and understanding. We cannot speak truth in hate.
We have different jobs, lifestyles, opportunities, talents, skills, passions, and pursuits. Our diversity defines us. Stop hating people who look, act, or think differently than you. I’m talking to both sides of the political spectrum. Instead, listen to their perspective. Every person in this country is equal in God’s eyes. We are all made in His image.
However, just because we are equal as humans does not mean we are equal in opportunity and possessions. Privilege exists. Some people have it way easier than others. In fact, 99.9% of us have it easier than others. The world has never been fair and it never will be, because every person has choices to make. Those choices have consequences. They affect us and they affect others. The choices of previous generations affect us all in good ways and in bad ways.
For some of us, previous generations worked through unbelievable adversity and made smart choices to give us what we have today. For others, previous generations did not work hard, made bad choices, OR were treated unfairly and were prevented from opportunity. Some people get lucky. Some people have extremely bad luck. We all start our lives on different playing fields and for some that playing field never gets much easier. Every person receives a different level of education from school, opportunities, experiences, and what is taught to them. We can work to remove injustice and unfair treatment, but we cannot equally reward those who do not work as hard (or smart) as others. We cannot force those with more to give what they have to those with less. Getting rid of privilege gets rid of the freedom, diversity, and motivation to work hard/use education to be successful that drives our country.
The choices we make personally today will affect us in good ways and in bad ways. Both now and in future generations. Sometimes people choose to take advantage of other people. It is human nature (we’ve all done it) and it is heartbreaking! But, we can also choose to SERVE one another in LOVE. To give freely to those less fortunate. If we choose to make the right choices, we can positively impact ourselves, those around us, and future generations.
Our purpose is not to complain about our lot (privilege) in life. If we focus only on what is wrong in our country and in our own lives, we will live in negativity, depression, and division. We will not progress.
Our purpose is to be good stewards of what we have been given! And to look for ways to better our lives and those around us. If we focus on what we DO have in thankfulness and look to see how we can bless one another in love, service, and generosity we will see progress in this country. We will never be perfect, but we will see progress.
America is not perfect. But America is beautiful. Just like each one of us. We don’t (or at least we shouldn’t) judge one another on our faults, we (should) celebrate one another for our good qualities and help each other work through our flaws.
Let’s do the same for our country. United we stand. Divided we fall.
www.petersonfarmbrothers.com/faith.