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I watched the video intently as a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties engaged the older gentleman who was dressed in fatigues. “I served my time, and watched a few of my buddies die on the battlefield,” the young man continued, “and you’re making a mockery of their memory. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
Stolen Valor Act
The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Pub.L. 113–12; H.R. 258) is a United States federal law that was passed by the 113th United States Congress. The law amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a person to fraudulently claim having received any of a series of particular military decorations with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefit from convincing someone that he or she rightfully did receive that award.*
Unfortunately, there are still people in our country who are willing to dress up like military personnel. They attempt to cause others to think something about them that they have neither earned nor deserve. It’s now a federal crime. However, it seems that some are still willing to take the risk involved in dressing in military attire. Perhaps they are attempting to have their egos massaged by duped members of the public.
The Only Difference
No matter what we claim, when we misrepresent who we really are as Christians, we often give the watching world a picture that doesn’t rightly embody the truth. In the final analysis, we are all beggars, liars, thieves, adulterers, and murderers. There is no difference between us and the rest of the world—except that we believe we have a Savior. He came to purchase our freedom from the bondage of what we know to be true about ourselves.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB).
Any spiritual pride or self-aggrandizing behavior on our part is “stolen valor” from the One who really deserves any credit whatsoever.
If you liked this, you might also like What We Deserve | Why It’s Dangerous to Misrepresent the Gospel
Michael Temple writes from North Dakota.
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