Ask yourself the one question that separates patriots from pretenders

As we honor the brave souls who laid down their lives for this country and salute those who fought for our freedom, a deeper question should rise within us.

Not one that simply tests our loyalty to the red, white, and blue or willingness to die for our flag, but this: Would you live for your country?

This country doesn’t need more empty promises of sacrifice. It needs people willing to show up every day with integrity and courage.

I once sat across from a young, bright-eyed man, eager to prove himself, training to become a Navy SEAL. I asked him to write down a single question: Would you die for your country? He nodded solemnly as he scribbled it onto a notepad. Then I told him to cross out “die” and write “live.”

That shift in wording — so simple — completely changed his posture. The romanticism of martyrdom dimmed in the light of daily responsibility. Living for something demands consistency, humility, and effort. It’s the long haul.

I then asked him to add "your family" and "my family" to the sentence. “Would you live for your country, your family, and my family?” That’s when the gravity hit him. Because if you won’t live for them — serve, protect, uphold — then you don’t deserve the honor of dying for them.

A lot of men say they’d die for their country because they assume they’ll never have to. But living for your country? That’s actionable. That starts now — in how you lead your home, how you love your neighbor, how you contribute to your community.

This country doesn’t need more empty promises of sacrifice. It needs people willing to show up every day with integrity and courage.

We are living in a destabilized America. The erosion didn’t begin with foreign powers. It began when we stopped holding ourselves and each other accountable. We began to celebrate selfishness over service, confusion over clarity, and chaos over order. When morality and justice become flexible, small government becomes impossible. That vacuum invites control. And when people abandon responsibility, tyranny grows in its place.

I’ve worked in environments where destabilizing a country was the goal, where operations were designed to light the fuse and let the people do the rest. Sadly, I see a similar fuse burning in our own nation.

When law is no longer tied to truth and truth becomes subjective, the foundation cracks. Evil ideas dressed as compassion are pushed forward under the guise of progress. But make no mistake: Confusion is not compassion. Chaos is not freedom. And evil, when legalized, is still evil.

So what do we do? We take ownership. We return to righteousness.

I used to think I was doing enough by building a business, raising my kids, and being a decent husband. But I delegated too much. I assumed the school system would take care of my children’s education. I trusted the government to protect what’s right.

That was a mistake.

The top is broken. It’s time we fix it from the ground up, starting with ourselves. We’re not in charge of them. We’re in charge of us.

As men and women of faith, we were born with purpose and calling. The Bible tells us we are a royal priesthood, but too many of us live like powerless pawns. Why? Because we've forgotten who we are. We fear the consequences of standing up, but fail to see the greater danger in staying seated.

When I look around, I see a nation waiting for leadership — not from Washington, but from our homes, churches, and communities. Men, it’s time to get back in the fight. Not with fists, but with faith. Not with rage, but with righteousness.

Start by asking: What do I bring to the table? What am I doing to make this country better today? You don’t need to be a soldier to serve. You need to be someone of character who says, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I recently read Ezekiel 22:30 to a group at my church: “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap … but I found no one.” I asked, “What if Jesus came back today and found no one standing in the gap for this nation?” A little boy stood up and shouted, “I’ll be that man!”

That boldness — unfiltered and unafraid — is what we need more of.

This Fourth of July, don’t just wave the flag — embody what it stands for. Choose to live for your country. Live with integrity. Live with purpose. Live in a way that honors your family and the generations that came before us.

If we start living like that, others will follow. Only then can we fill in the gap and rebuild the wall.