More than Words

"I pledge Alligence to the flag of the United States of America...."

"To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part...." 

Both of those phrases are very impacting to me however, without commitment, they are just words. I have seen a generation of kids that can not even recite the Pledge of Alliegance much less pay respect by removing their hats. 

Regardless of where we are, who we're with, or what our surroundings are, if I hear the National Anthem...I'm singing.  Why? Because I love my country and I have a commitment to respect my freedom and those that went before and continue to go in my place to secure that.  

Our wedding vows should merit the same commitment. It's easy when we're all happy and we skip along holding hands but when reality sets in.....not so much. When we're dealing with everyday events and issues, we don't want to think about what the economy is doing to our bank accounts, or how we will survive the teenage years or how losing our job will affect us. 

Things will change....that is a given...you can take that to the bank....and all those other cliches.  When some of us married, we never considered taking care of aging parents, taking in family members, giving up the empty nest for a revolving door, raising grandchildren and so on and so on but those things do happen. 

There have been many decisions made for me about my country and I don't agree with alot of them but I don't leave it.  I don't pack up and get my passport and just leave.  I don't go on strike and refuse to participate in the Pledge of Alliegance or the National Anthem.  I don't support some decisions and I certainly don't agree with them...but I love my country!

Just like we commit to standing and reciting the Pledge of Alliegance, we should remember the words of our vows and live them out.  I have a friend that would tell the story of his wedding band.  He told us that he would often point to his wedding and ask his kids if they knew what it meant.  He would then tell them that the ring was a symbol of his love for their mother and that because of the commitment they made, they would be together for life. 

It is important to be the example to a generation that is so easily impacted by a society that lives in the here and now. Committment, loyalty, and alliegance take more than words.  "I pledge alliegance" means more than "when I feel like it" or "if things go my way" and so does "til death do us part." 

"...at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 
Matthew 19:4-6