I’m just a preacher, but that does not stop me from reflecting on the 250 years of independence that the United States is celebrating. And as we celebrate our 250 years of independence, it is time for us to also address the contradiction that liberty and slavery have existed side by side throughout much of the history of the United States of America.
We must address this contradiction and remind people that while physical enslavement may have been abolished, the ideology that justified it can still manifest itself through prejudice, oppression, greed, and the devaluing of human dignity as seen in the MAGA Movement which has been embraced by the current administration in Washington, DC.
In the book of beginnings, Genesis 1:26-27, the Bible tells us, “ 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Likewise, the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776, declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
According to both Genesis and the Declaration, every human being possesses dignity because every human being is created by God. The Bible grounds our worth in the image of God, and the Declaration grounds our rights in our Creator. Yet the truth of the matter is that the United States of America proclaimed equality while simultaneously permitting the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of people who looked like me. The nation celebrated liberty while denying liberty to others. It spoke of inalienable rights while treating men, women, and children as property to be bought, sold, inherited, and exploited.
That contradiction is not merely a chapter in a history book; it is a warning for every generation. Whenever a society begins to value wealth over people as it does in the United States today, power over justice or privilege over equality, it is breathing the same ideological air that made slavery possible. The chains may be gone, but the thinking that forged those chains can still survive if it is left unchallenged. Let me make it plain, the chains may be gone but the lie which built the chains continues to exist. As the founding fathers were pinning the contents of the Declaration of Independence they were simultaneously denying the fact that every person bears the image of God. In the New Testament book of James Chapter 3 verse 9 it is written, “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God.” James reminds us that all humans are made in the likeness, the image of God so when we belittle a human we are belittling God’s image as well. Donald Trump’s depiction of President Obama and First Lady Obama as apes and the disparaging remarks concerning Mrs. Obama made by the MAGA supporter Josh Hokit and the fact that there was not a rebuke from the White House reflect the trend of MAGA supporters to view certain people as less than human. Before you can oppress people, you must first convince yourself they are less than human.Solomon wrote in the Book of Wisdom in Proverbs 14:3, 31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to something higher. We do not measure people by the color of their skin, the size of their bank account, their nationality, or their social status. We measure people by the fact that they bear the image of Almighty God. Every attack on human dignity is ultimately an attack on the Creator whose image humanity reflects.
So, as we celebrate 250 years of American independence, as we thank God for the progress that has been made, let us remember and honor those who sacrificed so that liberty could become more than words on parchment. Let us also pray for the courage to continue the work that remains. True patriotism is not pretending our nation has no faults; true patriotism is loving our country enough to help it live up to its highest ideals because until liberty belongs equally to everyone. The work of justice is not finished. And until every person is treated as someone made in the image of God, the church still has a prophetic word to preach. But what do I know? I’m just a preacher!
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