1972   The American flag says...

Freedom depends on morality

     I have a second word for you. Be humble. 

     Look at the sins that remain and settle for nothing less than a deep cleansing. In your heart you know what needs to be cleaned. Know where your glory comes from. "Old Glory," I am called. My glory is the freedom that I give to every law-respecting man, woman and child. But mark this, freedom depends on morality. 

     The Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Word of God are the foundation of time-tested morality. Remove these foundations and suffer future shock. The vast majority of our citizens was trusted as self-disciplined followers of the Ten Commandments. Should the majority of our citizens forsake the disciplines that come through moral commitment, the society will no longer trust itself. 

     If my people depart from the virtues of God, they will find their freedom fading. Be humble. The high cost of freedom is commitment to God and the self-discipline it will demand. Without God, my stars will be clouded, my stripes will fade, my glory will depart, and your freedoms will erode and die. I the American flag have known humiliation too. I see men and women of high rank spending their millions on debasing pleasures. 

     Then they pledge their allegiance to me without guilt or repentance. I think of those who died for my country's freedom, and then I wonder if it was worth it! Oh God, what a waste. No! Not a waste; a challenge to call all back to the religious virtues that made freedom possible. 

Friday: a miracle of God?