It’s so easy to forget those who served in our military, because of the most part they are quiet, unassuming people. They are not boisterous of their sacrifices, but they know what is expected and how to hold their place in the line and do their duty.

It seems that when Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

“Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?” “Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.” “But I’m starved,” the governor said. “Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”

Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. “Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.” “Do you know who I am?” the woman said. “I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.” (Bit & Pieces, May 28, 1992, pp. 5-6).

I think that those officials who ignore or subvert our laws should be prosecuted to whatever extent the “law” demands. Does that mean that I like all of the laws? Of course not, but we do have means in place to change laws. I for one am an activist in the sense that I actively express my views to my elected representatives through phone calls, emails, letters and votes. A soldier knows how to hold their place in the line, do their duty and protect what is dear to them. The same is true of Christian Veterans.

The apostle Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 6:11-13, “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the tricky ways of the devil.” (NLT) or ” Each of you put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the devil when he attacks and when you have done everything in your power to stand against him, continue to stand anyway.”

We thank our veterans for their service and commitment to keeping us free. But when our service to the military ends, you can’t stop fighting or standing up for what is right.

You see I believe that it is part of our duty. To use to God’s advantage in any way we can the laws of the government he has placed here in our country. If you want to protect your freedoms and see Godly values stay in place and have some say, maybe in a small way in what happens in and to our country, get out of your easy chair and do something about it! Be an activist, if you don’t, then don’t come crying to God to do something when they place “alternative lifestyle choices” on the curriculum of your local school, when they pass laws that contradict God’s laws, stand up and do you duty. It’s time we say to our world; “Do you know who I am?” I’m one of God’s soldiers and you are not going to disobey God’s laws without answering to me and thousands like me!

Russ Lawson is a volunteer citizen columnist, who serves Daily Advocate readers weekly with his column Today’s Challenges. He is the Director of World Christian Literature Outreach and can be reached at rlawson@wclo.net. Viewpoints expressed in these opinion pieces are the work of the author. The Daily Advocate does not endorse these viewpoints or the independent activities of the author.