See Something - Say Something!
As a native Texan, I was raised in San Antonio, attended high school in Dallas, and college in Waxahachie. Though I have lived in the foreign countries of Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Missouri, Texas has always been my home. Now I live in Richmond, Texas, and have burial ground in the historic Morton Cemetery. So, it looks like I will be here for a while.
San Antonio is an amazing place of celebrated significance in Texas History. Beginning in the second grade, our classes would visit historical sites around San Antonio like the Alamo and the other missions, King Williams Historic District, and La Villita. In all these places, it was clear that San Antonio was a mission field where the message of Christ was freely proclaimed. I was raised on a mission field, and it remains one today!
As a card carrying member of the Fort Bend County Museum, my eyes have been opened to the historical significance of this area. It is fun and exciting to discover the past, and to realize that honoring God has been a pattern in so many of the lives of the heroes of Texas. Even as I read grave stones in local cemeteries, it is obvious that many of those that have gone before me, gave glory to God for His provisions in their lives.
When Texas proclaimed their independence from Mexico, a formal Declaration was created on March 2, 1836, in the convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. A number of reasons were stated for demanding independence, but one of the most significant complaints was: “(Mexico) denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.”
These Texas heroes were saying that no presiding authorities have the right to force religious institutions into becoming voices for federal initiatives. When governments coerce its citizens into living within non-Biblical boundaries, it is blasphemy to God. The Bible alone is our sole rule of faith and conduct - period. No government edict, regulation, or decree can supersede the Word of God, even if it is approved by the highest court in the land. These principled Texans had had enough of contrary government regulations infringing on their rights as Christians to worship God as they desired. So, they said something and revolted!
Don’t you admire those brave Texans who put their own lives on the line for others? 60 men signed this Declaration that officially established the Republic of Texas. Great men like Andrew Briscoe, Sam Houston, Samuel A. Maverick, John W. Moore, and Jose` Antonio Navarro. Some of those who signed lived right here in Fort Bend County. They have many descendants living among us today that enjoy freedom of worship because these heroes said something. I salute them, will you?
The United States Department of Homeland Security has a campaign to report suspicious activity which says, “If you see something, say something.” I see our freedom to worship God as we desire being diminished in America. And I am saying something. The patriots of the 13 Original Colonies saw the same thing happen in 1776, and said something. The Texan patriots saw it happen in 1836, and they said something. It is time for more people to speak out against laws and initiatives that are robbing us of our religious freedoms – I am, will you?