Special: Washington's Letters to the Churches
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Peace to Live By Special: Washington's Letters to the Churches - Daniel Litton
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To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church, President George Washington wrote the following: “While I reiterate the possession of my dependence upon Heaven as the source of all public and private blessings; I will observe that the general prevalence of piety, philanthropy, honesty, industry and economy seems, in the ordinary course of human affairs are particularly necessary for advancing and confirming the happiness of our country. While all men within our territories are protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of their consciences; it is rationally to be expected from them in return, that they will be emulous of evincing the sincerity of their profession by the innocence of their lives, and the beneficence of their actions: For no man, who is profligate in his morals, or a bad member of the civil community, can possibly be a true Christian, or a credit to his own religious society.”
Washington gave us his position in this simple statement to religious American citizens of his time, and what he has stated rings true even in this day and age. There is the identification of the true attainment that all humans wish to reach, which, of course, we find is happiness. It is as Thomas Jefferson told us in the Declaration of Independence, “Life, liberty, and...” thirdly he said, “happiness,” namely, “the pursuit of happiness.” Within these sentiments of life, though, our first President acknowledged that there are certain attributes, particular things which are necessary of the human will and endeavor in order to attain this happiness, to reach its full manifestation. Look at what he said. He said we need zeal for God, belief in growth of the individual manifested through helping hands, sincerity of speech (which makes us really free), and growth of business and its supporting system. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
For those familiar with the man, and those who have spent countless hours becoming acquainted with him, as it is best possible, George Washington is found, and rightfully so, to be the greatest among the founders of our country. Certainly, in that time, in that age of great men and really women as well, there is this difference about Washington that makes itself clear. So keen on the details. Why, he was the one who wrote his own personal guidelines, recall, when he was young titled ‘The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.’ If you go back and read that, it is good groundwork to understand the polished nature of Washington, and what, whether he knew it at the time or not, would begin to build the legacy that would be remembered for so many years afterward, a grand legacy that in most cases has lived up to what actually happened some two hundred and some odd years ago.
It is the attributes that were mentioned above, those ones he told the Presbyterians that lead to happiness, it is those that exist among a collection of many wise sayings, true understanding of life, one that was shaped, as most tend to be, through great accomplishments and tremendous victories, though not always easily come, these beliefs of the man come to us in a truly understood and experienced fashion.
One can say, “Did Washington believe in God?” “Did he believe in Jesus Christ?” “Was he really a deist?” “Was he a people pleaser that just said whatever suited the listener?” There is no question, if you read Dale Carnegie’s more modern book ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’ that Washington, so many years before it, had already mastered Carnegie’s concepts, his ways of approaching people. Isn’t that partly what made the man great? He understood how to relate to others. He understood the important views of others, perhaps even more then Thomas Jefferson himself, and how to talk to people so that those views were generally not condemned, but rather supported so as to make the other person feel good, to uphold freedom, and to really, at the end of day, practice what he preached, what all the founders preached in some way, and that was a devotion to liberty.
This just isn’t an opinion for our day and age. After being sworn into the Presidency, Washington was so highly viewed. This brings to mind a story of Washington leaving Elizabethtown, New Jersey, for New York City in the latter 1780s. He was accompanied by a group of other important individuals on a small ship and set sail, and historian Edward J. Larson, in his book titled ‘The Return of George Washington,’ notes for us: “Ships in the harbor and batteries onshore fired their guns in salute as the barge rounded Manhattan Island heading for Murray’s Landing on the East River at the foot of Wall Street. Pulling alongside, one of the floating choirs sang its version of “God Save the King”: These shores a HEAD shall own, Unsully’d by a throne, Our much lov’d WASHINGTON, The Great, the Good!“ (Larson, 2014, pg. 286).
Or, we could take into account a story about John Adams. Again, Larson notes for us: “Installed as Vice President and the Senate’s presiding officer two days earlier, as Washington entered the city Adams was lecturing the Senate about the imperative of giving the President a proper title. He wanted something like “his Most Benign Highness” or “your Majesty,” it turned out, and dismissed the mere designation of “President” as something suited to the chief officer of a cricket club or fire company. America’s chief executive must have a title equal to that of European royalty or he will lose respect at home and abroad, Adams believed, and one superior to the “your Excellency” commonly afforded state governors, or else the relative place of the central government in the federal scheme will slip and anarchy result.... No title could possibly “add to the respect entertained for General Washington,” [Pennsylvania Senator William] Maclay maintained. Rather than gain respect by becoming President, Washington gave respect to the presidency by holding it” (Larson, 2014, pg. 287).
To the other questions mentioned a few minutes ago, Washington clearly knew the Creator. That becomes apparent in his writings. In what way he did, or in how he really saw things, why, that is up for debate and probably will always be up for debate. This fact, in and of itself, can only be comprehended in the next level of Existence, and transcendence of this body and the world has occurred. But then, in that place, wherever everyone who has known the Creator becomes, will it really matter? Will it matter how exactly Washington, the founder of our country, saw things? Probably not. Just as it will not matter so much how he saw things, it the same breath it will not matter too much for us. What matters is that we are all together as One body, righteous, and will be with the Creator who created us. We are with the One who has made us perfect.
All we can do is go by what we see, what the man’s writings are, what others said about him, and this is all dependent upon the observer’s viewpoint. We all see things differently. What you may see as one thing, another may see as something totally different. But we know this fact, or at the very least, it would be wise of us to remind ourselves of it, just as Washington was typically sensitive to how the other person, or group of people, saw things. By giving others opportunity, we give ourselves opportunity. This is an essential fact of life. No one can be helped, see things differently than they do now, when we don’t give them the opportunity to do that. Isn’t that what the Supreme Being models for us? Does he not model this, by, in allowing people to live their lives, giving them the upmost occasion to become a truly righteous person, and then, in their righteousness, to put on the characteristics that are becoming to that righteousness?
Of course, this falls in line with what Washington said to another church. To the Society of Quakers, he said, “The liberty enjoyed by the People of these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeable to their Consciences, is not only among the choicest of their Blessings, but also of their Rights—While men perform their social Duties faithfully, they do all that Society or the State can with propriety demand or expect; and remain responsible only to their Maker for the Religion or modes of faith which they may prefer or profess.” Washington understood the importance that people retain their freedom, and this was something that he believed and one could say, perhaps preached throughout his life. He believed people had the right to worship the God of the Universe how they see fit, and the way they wanted to, the way they saw him. Indeed, self-righteousness had been relinquished. Washington always approached this subject in humble stature.
The Great Scriptures say, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18, ESV). This text supports our idea for freedom here, as was Washington’s, that freedom is the banner by which we want to live by, by which we want to worship the Supreme Being. In the same breath, it takes an “unveiled face.” There has to be an Enlightenment, as Washington himself would refer to. And Enlightenment can only come from an understanding of the truth and embracing of that same truth. As the text says, the understanding is made possible by the Creator himself. It is only when one is in-tune with him, that he or she understands.
It is really an unembellished thing to see things how one decides, referring to what Washington told the Quakers. Appreciation comes with this true alignment, when one is aligned with the “choicest of… blessings” to worship God how one sees fit with the actual opportunity that makes this realization possible. This is from God. This has perhaps never been so perfectly available to Christians in any other government or society of our world in all time. The Father of our country understood this. True freedom brings the ultimate happiness and the possibility for great things to happen. It is as Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do” (John 14:12, ESV). When one is aligned in the heart, it can be presumed that the possibilities are endless. It is only where there is a lack of resistance, the true capacity for freedom, can true religion flow, genuine worship of our Maker.
This is what Washington believed. It is noted that he told the General Committee Representing the United Baptist churches of Virginia: “If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed in the Convention, where I had the honor to preside, might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society, certainly I would never have placed my signature to it; and if I could now conceive that the general Government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution—For you, doubtless, remember that I have often expressed my sentiment, that every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience.”
The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Galatia, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, ESV). There were people present at this particular church during the Apostle’s time of whom were trying to lay a heavy burden on the Christians there. They wanted them to see things their way, and do things in such a manner that made the faith difficult—a way that restricted the freedom of the believers. They were being prohibited from following God as they saw fit, as the Apostle Paul had originally instructed them to. And the message is no different coming to us from our government, the one that came from Washington himself, perhaps originally brought about by Thomas Jefferson. That is, that the person should worship the Creator in the way one sees fit, in freedom, and that the government, or any other church, should not interfere with this freedom.
Another letter from Washington can be insightful in our understanding here, for Washington wrote the Episcopalians, “[T]he consideration that human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected, will always continue to prompt me to promote the progress of the former, by inculcating the practice of the latter. On this occasion it would ill become me to conceal the joy I have felt in perceiving the fraternal affection which appears to increase every day among the friends of genuine religion—It affords edifying prospects indeed to see Christians of different denominations dwell together in more charity, and conduct themselves in respect to each other with a more christian-like spirit than ever they have done in any former age, or in any other nation.”
This is what we all want, isn’t it? We should all want to get along, as Christians, to become one with each other, as Jesus prayed and longed for things to be. You remember that from John chapter 17, from his high priestly prayer to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is essential for true character in any individual. When self-righteousness has been relinquished, when a spirit of humility has been embraced, then true peace and love can reign free. Happiness is had in our interacting with one another because there is not a spirit of condemnation toward one another, but rather a magnification on the areas where we see things the same way, and a minimization on the areas were we do not. There is not a spirit of rehabilitation in trying to get one to come along to the good side—to see things as we see them. This is the embodiment of becoming an easygoing person, a person who is actually liked.
Going back to what Washington first said, is that morality and happiness are truly connected. And that makes good sense. There is no ‘real’ happiness outside of a moral code. In other words, restriction is necessary, that is, restriction of the sin-nature, to choose not to sin, so that freedom can actually reign. If a person was to act on his animal instincts, and do whatever he or she pleased all the time, society would not be a pretty picture. News accounts bear witness to the fact that not everybody follows this principle. Bad news shows us the instances where people have given in to those animalistic behaviors, and as a result, have done wrong in one fashion or another. It corrupts the individual person, it corrupts those affected, and really, at the end of the day, it corrupts the hearer. Negativity expressed has to be dealt with. It is either pushed down inside of ourselves, or it is again re-expressed, and that, my friends, doesn’t do anybody any good.
We only need to consider another letter Washington sent to the Presbyterians to understand this concept further. He said, “I am persuaded, you will permit me to observe that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political direction.... To the guidance of the ministers of the gospel this important object is, perhaps, more properly committed—It will be your care to instruct the ignorant, and to reclaim the devious—and, in the progress of morality and science, to which our government will give every furtherance, we may confidently expect the advancement of true religion, and the completion of our happiness. I pray the munificent Rewarder of virtue that your agency in this good work may receive its compensation here and hereafter.” Indeed, there was nothing Washington himself, or the government for that matter, could really do to help the human condition. Washington definitely understood this point.
Let me express how I see things. Let me give from my own, personal spirituality. After all, these are things from my view that I’m presenting here. Yes, in my view, it is up to the church people. Really, though, is it even up to them? The true source of morality, or righteousness, comes from God himself. It is as Jesus said in John chapter 3, “"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God"” (John 3:3, ESV). We find that rebirth is necessary, then, for the new creation of the person, as the Apostle Paul put it, to make itself manifest. It is my belief that any other way is just building on the unredeemed character of man, and in doing so, is severely limited. It is like trying to make a bad apple taste good. Perhaps one could cover it in caramel. It might seemingly taste good, but at the end of the day, that rottenness was underneath the caramel. The stomach will receive it probably only for dysentery or the like to be had at a later period of time. The payment has to be made for such approaches. They simply don’t work no matter how much anybody wants them to.
How does one become a new creation, then? How does one become born again? The solution to achieve this is so simple, really, it might seem too good to be true. That’s often the case, isn’t it, that we believe things have to hard to achieve something great? We believe there has to be sacrifice and struggle, our putting our minds to it to accomplish it. Perhaps it’s our self-righteousness creeping up. Maybe we want things to be hard because then, after accomplishing becoming such a grand and noble person, we can look back at the things we did and say, “Yes, I achieved this! This was a result of my own personal effort!” That’s the problem, though. The reality is, is that we can’t achieve it. It is actually something that we cannot do in and of ourselves. That’s why the creation has to be new, and the person has to be re-born.
So, if it’s not from our own effort, how does it come about? Remember, I said the answer is simple. The truth is, the accessibility to become great is already present. It’s already here. We don’t have to do anything. There is no hard work involved. There is no seeking after this or that, striving after this or that, to become great. Greatness is available through the obedience of another, by placing his obedience in place of our disobedience. It is placing his success over our failure, his morality in place of our immorality. Once this is done, true happiness, true peace, true virtue, real morality, is achieved. It is granted to us as our own even though it wasn’t our own. It is given to us even though, in doing evil, we have found that we really don’t deserve it. We deserve to be seen as a person who is lacking in virtue and one who really is immoral. This gift given to us from the one Above, this begets to us our true happiness, and by having our true happiness, we can now seek to bring our character into alignment with what we actually already are.
Once one comes to understand that he or she has indeed failed, and failed in many ways to say the least, then one can come to accept the gift that is offered to make all the wrongs become right. It is through the gift that God has given to mankind, namely, the sacrifice of his own Son, for our sins, by accepting this gift and making it one’s own, then one is seen in a favorable light with the Creator. Once this decision has been made, total access to the Father of all who are righteous is granted. It is in this new parental relationship that one begets, that one really finds peace in life. There is peace at the foundation in knowing that the One God, the God who really resides above the clouds, now looks favorably upon me, and therefore no matter what happens in this world from this point forward, I am forever inseparable from this new relationship. And since I now have this bond with the God of the Universe, then no matter where I go, what I do, whatever happens to me, there is really nothing to be concerned about. Not even death itself has any victory.
All one has to do—as I believe Washington did in his own way, and as many others in his same place have done; leaders of this great country long ago and even now within the present, great people of our society—what one needs to do is trust in the Christ—the One God sent into this world, physically, over two millenniums ago. The dark side of the human character has to be dealt with, and indeed, it has been dealt with. The offering of this man, Jesus, of himself on the cross has satisfied the righteousness of the Creator. Now, again, through this sacrifice, we can be made perfect as we were originally intended to be—as the first man who ever lived was. And just as the same man Jesus rose from the dead, so too, now when our bodies give way to the frailty of this world, can like he did, rise to new life, and forever be at peace and rest in a new world, created much in the same likeness as this current one.
- Daniel Litton
References
Larson, Edward J. (2014). The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789. Sydney, AU: HarperCollins.
Washington, George. (1789, May 30-June 5). ‘To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-02-02-0307
Washington, George. (1789, October 13.) ‘To the Society of Quakers.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0188
Washington, George. (1789, May). ‘To the United Baptist Churches of Virginia.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-02-02-0309
Washington, George. (1789, August 19). ‘To the Protestant Episcopal Church.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-03-02-0289
Washington, George. (1789, November 2). ‘To the Presbyterian Ministers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0193
Further reading: ‘The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation’ by George Washington.
To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church, President George Washington wrote the following: “While I reiterate the possession of my dependence upon Heaven as the source of all public and private blessings; I will observe that the general prevalence of piety, philanthropy, honesty, industry and economy seems, in the ordinary course of human affairs are particularly necessary for advancing and confirming the happiness of our country. While all men within our territories are protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of their consciences; it is rationally to be expected from them in return, that they will be emulous of evincing the sincerity of their profession by the innocence of their lives, and the beneficence of their actions: For no man, who is profligate in his morals, or a bad member of the civil community, can possibly be a true Christian, or a credit to his own religious society.”
Washington gave us his position in this simple statement to religious American citizens of his time, and what he has stated rings true even in this day and age. There is the identification of the true attainment that all humans wish to reach, which, of course, we find is happiness. It is as Thomas Jefferson told us in the Declaration of Independence, “Life, liberty, and...” thirdly he said, “happiness,” namely, “the pursuit of happiness.” Within these sentiments of life, though, our first President acknowledged that there are certain attributes, particular things which are necessary of the human will and endeavor in order to attain this happiness, to reach its full manifestation. Look at what he said. He said we need zeal for God, belief in growth of the individual manifested through helping hands, sincerity of speech (which makes us really free), and growth of business and its supporting system. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
For those familiar with the man, and those who have spent countless hours becoming acquainted with him, as it is best possible, George Washington is found, and rightfully so, to be the greatest among the founders of our country. Certainly, in that time, in that age of great men and really women as well, there is this difference about Washington that makes itself clear. So keen on the details. Why, he was the one who wrote his own personal guidelines, recall, when he was young titled ‘The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.’ If you go back and read that, it is good groundwork to understand the polished nature of Washington, and what, whether he knew it at the time or not, would begin to build the legacy that would be remembered for so many years afterward, a grand legacy that in most cases has lived up to what actually happened some two hundred and some odd years ago.
It is the attributes that were mentioned above, those ones he told the Presbyterians that lead to happiness, it is those that exist among a collection of many wise sayings, true understanding of life, one that was shaped, as most tend to be, through great accomplishments and tremendous victories, though not always easily come, these beliefs of the man come to us in a truly understood and experienced fashion.
One can say, “Did Washington believe in God?” “Did he believe in Jesus Christ?” “Was he really a deist?” “Was he a people pleaser that just said whatever suited the listener?” There is no question, if you read Dale Carnegie’s more modern book ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’ that Washington, so many years before it, had already mastered Carnegie’s concepts, his ways of approaching people. Isn’t that partly what made the man great? He understood how to relate to others. He understood the important views of others, perhaps even more then Thomas Jefferson himself, and how to talk to people so that those views were generally not condemned, but rather supported so as to make the other person feel good, to uphold freedom, and to really, at the end of day, practice what he preached, what all the founders preached in some way, and that was a devotion to liberty.
This just isn’t an opinion for our day and age. After being sworn into the Presidency, Washington was so highly viewed. This brings to mind a story of Washington leaving Elizabethtown, New Jersey, for New York City in the latter 1780s. He was accompanied by a group of other important individuals on a small ship and set sail, and historian Edward J. Larson, in his book titled ‘The Return of George Washington,’ notes for us: “Ships in the harbor and batteries onshore fired their guns in salute as the barge rounded Manhattan Island heading for Murray’s Landing on the East River at the foot of Wall Street. Pulling alongside, one of the floating choirs sang its version of “God Save the King”: These shores a HEAD shall own, Unsully’d by a throne, Our much lov’d WASHINGTON, The Great, the Good!“ (Larson, 2014, pg. 286).
Or, we could take into account a story about John Adams. Again, Larson notes for us: “Installed as Vice President and the Senate’s presiding officer two days earlier, as Washington entered the city Adams was lecturing the Senate about the imperative of giving the President a proper title. He wanted something like “his Most Benign Highness” or “your Majesty,” it turned out, and dismissed the mere designation of “President” as something suited to the chief officer of a cricket club or fire company. America’s chief executive must have a title equal to that of European royalty or he will lose respect at home and abroad, Adams believed, and one superior to the “your Excellency” commonly afforded state governors, or else the relative place of the central government in the federal scheme will slip and anarchy result.... No title could possibly “add to the respect entertained for General Washington,” [Pennsylvania Senator William] Maclay maintained. Rather than gain respect by becoming President, Washington gave respect to the presidency by holding it” (Larson, 2014, pg. 287).
To the other questions mentioned a few minutes ago, Washington clearly knew the Creator. That becomes apparent in his writings. In what way he did, or in how he really saw things, why, that is up for debate and probably will always be up for debate. This fact, in and of itself, can only be comprehended in the next level of Existence, and transcendence of this body and the world has occurred. But then, in that place, wherever everyone who has known the Creator becomes, will it really matter? Will it matter how exactly Washington, the founder of our country, saw things? Probably not. Just as it will not matter so much how he saw things, it the same breath it will not matter too much for us. What matters is that we are all together as One body, righteous, and will be with the Creator who created us. We are with the One who has made us perfect.
All we can do is go by what we see, what the man’s writings are, what others said about him, and this is all dependent upon the observer’s viewpoint. We all see things differently. What you may see as one thing, another may see as something totally different. But we know this fact, or at the very least, it would be wise of us to remind ourselves of it, just as Washington was typically sensitive to how the other person, or group of people, saw things. By giving others opportunity, we give ourselves opportunity. This is an essential fact of life. No one can be helped, see things differently than they do now, when we don’t give them the opportunity to do that. Isn’t that what the Supreme Being models for us? Does he not model this, by, in allowing people to live their lives, giving them the upmost occasion to become a truly righteous person, and then, in their righteousness, to put on the characteristics that are becoming to that righteousness?
Of course, this falls in line with what Washington said to another church. To the Society of Quakers, he said, “The liberty enjoyed by the People of these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeable to their Consciences, is not only among the choicest of their Blessings, but also of their Rights—While men perform their social Duties faithfully, they do all that Society or the State can with propriety demand or expect; and remain responsible only to their Maker for the Religion or modes of faith which they may prefer or profess.” Washington understood the importance that people retain their freedom, and this was something that he believed and one could say, perhaps preached throughout his life. He believed people had the right to worship the God of the Universe how they see fit, and the way they wanted to, the way they saw him. Indeed, self-righteousness had been relinquished. Washington always approached this subject in humble stature.
The Great Scriptures say, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18, ESV). This text supports our idea for freedom here, as was Washington’s, that freedom is the banner by which we want to live by, by which we want to worship the Supreme Being. In the same breath, it takes an “unveiled face.” There has to be an Enlightenment, as Washington himself would refer to. And Enlightenment can only come from an understanding of the truth and embracing of that same truth. As the text says, the understanding is made possible by the Creator himself. It is only when one is in-tune with him, that he or she understands.
It is really an unembellished thing to see things how one decides, referring to what Washington told the Quakers. Appreciation comes with this true alignment, when one is aligned with the “choicest of… blessings” to worship God how one sees fit with the actual opportunity that makes this realization possible. This is from God. This has perhaps never been so perfectly available to Christians in any other government or society of our world in all time. The Father of our country understood this. True freedom brings the ultimate happiness and the possibility for great things to happen. It is as Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do” (John 14:12, ESV). When one is aligned in the heart, it can be presumed that the possibilities are endless. It is only where there is a lack of resistance, the true capacity for freedom, can true religion flow, genuine worship of our Maker.
This is what Washington believed. It is noted that he told the General Committee Representing the United Baptist churches of Virginia: “If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed in the Convention, where I had the honor to preside, might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society, certainly I would never have placed my signature to it; and if I could now conceive that the general Government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution—For you, doubtless, remember that I have often expressed my sentiment, that every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience.”
The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Galatia, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, ESV). There were people present at this particular church during the Apostle’s time of whom were trying to lay a heavy burden on the Christians there. They wanted them to see things their way, and do things in such a manner that made the faith difficult—a way that restricted the freedom of the believers. They were being prohibited from following God as they saw fit, as the Apostle Paul had originally instructed them to. And the message is no different coming to us from our government, the one that came from Washington himself, perhaps originally brought about by Thomas Jefferson. That is, that the person should worship the Creator in the way one sees fit, in freedom, and that the government, or any other church, should not interfere with this freedom.
Another letter from Washington can be insightful in our understanding here, for Washington wrote the Episcopalians, “[T]he consideration that human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected, will always continue to prompt me to promote the progress of the former, by inculcating the practice of the latter. On this occasion it would ill become me to conceal the joy I have felt in perceiving the fraternal affection which appears to increase every day among the friends of genuine religion—It affords edifying prospects indeed to see Christians of different denominations dwell together in more charity, and conduct themselves in respect to each other with a more christian-like spirit than ever they have done in any former age, or in any other nation.”
This is what we all want, isn’t it? We should all want to get along, as Christians, to become one with each other, as Jesus prayed and longed for things to be. You remember that from John chapter 17, from his high priestly prayer to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is essential for true character in any individual. When self-righteousness has been relinquished, when a spirit of humility has been embraced, then true peace and love can reign free. Happiness is had in our interacting with one another because there is not a spirit of condemnation toward one another, but rather a magnification on the areas where we see things the same way, and a minimization on the areas were we do not. There is not a spirit of rehabilitation in trying to get one to come along to the good side—to see things as we see them. This is the embodiment of becoming an easygoing person, a person who is actually liked.
Going back to what Washington first said, is that morality and happiness are truly connected. And that makes good sense. There is no ‘real’ happiness outside of a moral code. In other words, restriction is necessary, that is, restriction of the sin-nature, to choose not to sin, so that freedom can actually reign. If a person was to act on his animal instincts, and do whatever he or she pleased all the time, society would not be a pretty picture. News accounts bear witness to the fact that not everybody follows this principle. Bad news shows us the instances where people have given in to those animalistic behaviors, and as a result, have done wrong in one fashion or another. It corrupts the individual person, it corrupts those affected, and really, at the end of the day, it corrupts the hearer. Negativity expressed has to be dealt with. It is either pushed down inside of ourselves, or it is again re-expressed, and that, my friends, doesn’t do anybody any good.
We only need to consider another letter Washington sent to the Presbyterians to understand this concept further. He said, “I am persuaded, you will permit me to observe that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political direction.... To the guidance of the ministers of the gospel this important object is, perhaps, more properly committed—It will be your care to instruct the ignorant, and to reclaim the devious—and, in the progress of morality and science, to which our government will give every furtherance, we may confidently expect the advancement of true religion, and the completion of our happiness. I pray the munificent Rewarder of virtue that your agency in this good work may receive its compensation here and hereafter.” Indeed, there was nothing Washington himself, or the government for that matter, could really do to help the human condition. Washington definitely understood this point.
Let me express how I see things. Let me give from my own, personal spirituality. After all, these are things from my view that I’m presenting here. Yes, in my view, it is up to the church people. Really, though, is it even up to them? The true source of morality, or righteousness, comes from God himself. It is as Jesus said in John chapter 3, “"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God"” (John 3:3, ESV). We find that rebirth is necessary, then, for the new creation of the person, as the Apostle Paul put it, to make itself manifest. It is my belief that any other way is just building on the unredeemed character of man, and in doing so, is severely limited. It is like trying to make a bad apple taste good. Perhaps one could cover it in caramel. It might seemingly taste good, but at the end of the day, that rottenness was underneath the caramel. The stomach will receive it probably only for dysentery or the like to be had at a later period of time. The payment has to be made for such approaches. They simply don’t work no matter how much anybody wants them to.
How does one become a new creation, then? How does one become born again? The solution to achieve this is so simple, really, it might seem too good to be true. That’s often the case, isn’t it, that we believe things have to hard to achieve something great? We believe there has to be sacrifice and struggle, our putting our minds to it to accomplish it. Perhaps it’s our self-righteousness creeping up. Maybe we want things to be hard because then, after accomplishing becoming such a grand and noble person, we can look back at the things we did and say, “Yes, I achieved this! This was a result of my own personal effort!” That’s the problem, though. The reality is, is that we can’t achieve it. It is actually something that we cannot do in and of ourselves. That’s why the creation has to be new, and the person has to be re-born.
So, if it’s not from our own effort, how does it come about? Remember, I said the answer is simple. The truth is, the accessibility to become great is already present. It’s already here. We don’t have to do anything. There is no hard work involved. There is no seeking after this or that, striving after this or that, to become great. Greatness is available through the obedience of another, by placing his obedience in place of our disobedience. It is placing his success over our failure, his morality in place of our immorality. Once this is done, true happiness, true peace, true virtue, real morality, is achieved. It is granted to us as our own even though it wasn’t our own. It is given to us even though, in doing evil, we have found that we really don’t deserve it. We deserve to be seen as a person who is lacking in virtue and one who really is immoral. This gift given to us from the one Above, this begets to us our true happiness, and by having our true happiness, we can now seek to bring our character into alignment with what we actually already are.
Once one comes to understand that he or she has indeed failed, and failed in many ways to say the least, then one can come to accept the gift that is offered to make all the wrongs become right. It is through the gift that God has given to mankind, namely, the sacrifice of his own Son, for our sins, by accepting this gift and making it one’s own, then one is seen in a favorable light with the Creator. Once this decision has been made, total access to the Father of all who are righteous is granted. It is in this new parental relationship that one begets, that one really finds peace in life. There is peace at the foundation in knowing that the One God, the God who really resides above the clouds, now looks favorably upon me, and therefore no matter what happens in this world from this point forward, I am forever inseparable from this new relationship. And since I now have this bond with the God of the Universe, then no matter where I go, what I do, whatever happens to me, there is really nothing to be concerned about. Not even death itself has any victory.
All one has to do—as I believe Washington did in his own way, and as many others in his same place have done; leaders of this great country long ago and even now within the present, great people of our society—what one needs to do is trust in the Christ—the One God sent into this world, physically, over two millenniums ago. The dark side of the human character has to be dealt with, and indeed, it has been dealt with. The offering of this man, Jesus, of himself on the cross has satisfied the righteousness of the Creator. Now, again, through this sacrifice, we can be made perfect as we were originally intended to be—as the first man who ever lived was. And just as the same man Jesus rose from the dead, so too, now when our bodies give way to the frailty of this world, can like he did, rise to new life, and forever be at peace and rest in a new world, created much in the same likeness as this current one.
- Daniel Litton
References
Larson, Edward J. (2014). The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789. Sydney, AU: HarperCollins.
Washington, George. (1789, May 30-June 5). ‘To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-02-02-0307
Washington, George. (1789, October 13.) ‘To the Society of Quakers.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0188
Washington, George. (1789, May). ‘To the United Baptist Churches of Virginia.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-02-02-0309
Washington, George. (1789, August 19). ‘To the Protestant Episcopal Church.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-03-02-0289
Washington, George. (1789, November 2). ‘To the Presbyterian Ministers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.’ Retrieved from https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0193
Further reading: ‘The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation’ by George Washington.