The Hope of America

[This is a speech I presented on Tuesday for club and I've decided to add it to my blog archives]

More than anything in the world he wanted to go to sea and become a soldier, so by way of his elder brother he obtained a midshipman’s warrant. He expected to live his dream—sail on a man of war, capture fortresses, fight pirates and battle the Spaniards. But no. At the eleventh hour—his luggage already on board ship—after at first giving consent, his mother faltered. She relied on her boy too much to let him go, for he was her only support and protection. Nobody knows the words she used to convince her son, or the manner in which she expressed her desire, but the boy, out of love for his mother, chose to yield. And at fourteen, George Washington abandoned his dream of going to sea and returned to school to finish his education.

George Washington is one of the greatest men who ever lived. He used well his days and did not squander his youth; he was humble and sought wisdom; he was a great leader – and the Father of our Country.

Washington had many different qualities and it was his character as a whole which made up his greatness. One of these qualities was his appearance: He was straight and tall and broad shouldered, measuring six feet two inches in his socks. His walk was graceful and majestic and no one could approach him but with respect. In conversation he looked a man full in the face with blue gray penetrating eyes under a heavy brow and when he spoke he was deliberate, yet engaging and gentle. His face remained placid and under perfect control, but when moved by emotion, could express the deepest feeling. He was an athlete, too, and the best horseman in his class and he struck an imposing figure on the battle field. 

But apart from his looks and manner it was his depth of character, more than anything, which defined him and raised him above other men. He was not a proud man, but instead, the most humble. He was utterly trustworthy and mature in judgment, not partial when it came to justice, but on the other hand, exceedingly merciful. He had high energy, outdoing almost anyone. He showed no fear in the face of danger; in battle he was cool, dauntless, self-possessed. He had mastered his strong passions, rarely getting angry, though anger was one of his strongest. He served his country selflessly and preferred that over fame. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in 1773, and had already won fame in both Europe and Virginia by the age of twenty-two for his actions on the field during the French and Indian war. Fisher Ames who wrote Washington’s Eulogy says, “At a time when youth is almost privileged to be rash, Virginia committed the safety of her frontier, and ultimately the safety of America, not merely to his valor, for that would be scarcely praise, but to his prudence…” Ames says that Washington was,  “[F]earless of dangers that were personal to him, hesitating and cautious when they affected his country.”

But this is only Washington as he was seen on the battle field, unmatched, seemingly without comparison. This is Washington only after many years of seeking wisdom and applying discipline. More important to him than his own accomplishments in war was his personal character. His whole life, he listened to counsel and received instruction—as the Proverb says— that he would be wise in his latter days. But, in order to fully see the depth of George Washington’s character, we have to look at his childhood, because childhood is what shapes a man.  

In 1743, George Washington's father died and at the age of eleven Washington was left to the guardianship of his mother. His mother, Mary Washington possessed great beauty and was known in the colony as “the belle of the Northern Neck.” She was simple and kind. She carried herself with dignity and expected obedience from everyone under her authority. Although they liked Mrs. Washington for her kindness and hospitality, George’s friends were more afraid of her than they were of their own parents. John Frost says, in his book The Pictorial Life of George Washington, that Mrs. Washington, “possessed an uncommon strength of mind and decision of character.” He also says, “Washington’s inflexible regard to the performance of the minute duties of life, on which the happiness of himself and all who were connected with him depended; and his strict punctuality in keeping his word, and discharging all the obligations of justice, may be traced back to the early influence and example of his mother.” She was an excellent woman—a Proverbs 31 woman. She feared the Lord and did not eat the bread of idleness and her own works praised her in the gates.

When she was an old woman and lived in Fredericksburg during the war, she never boasted to the people of the things her son accomplished, even after receiving the news of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. And when she was informed of the surrender of Cornwallis, she lifted her hands and said, “Thank God! war will now be ended, and peace, independence and happiness bless our country!” Then Washington returned home to his mother, on foot, not accompanied by trumpets or royal escorts, but in humility, in the manner his mother raised him. “And now…” Elizabeth F. Ellet writes of Washington’s reunion with his mother, “the marshal of France, the general-in-chief of the combined armies of France and America, the deliverer of his country, the hero of the age, repaired to pay his humble duty to her whom he venerated as the author of his being, the founder of his fortune and his fame. For full well he knew that the matron was made of sterner stuff than to be moved by all the pride that glory ever gave, or by all the ‘pomp and circumstance’ of power.” And Mary Washington welcomed him into her home and embraced him and asked after his health and noticed how worry and care had worn him and spoke of old times –but not once did she mention his glory!

Washington ever said that all that he was he owed to his mother, but I would like to submit that there are and have been other great women comparable to Mrs. Washington and that, instead, the exceptional character of Washington was largely due to his humble submission to God in receiving the instruction of his mother. Proverbs says, “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother.” Elizabeth F. Ellet writes of Washington that his mother “claimed a reverence next to that due to his Creator,” and that he “yield[ed] to her with the most implicit obedience, even to the latest hours of her life.”

Think— if, instead, he had been a foolish man, then what difference would Mrs. Washington’s own character have made? By showing his mother’s good qualities, I am showing you, even more, the depth of Washington’s character. But again, if we merely praised the character of Washington and went no further, we’d be worshiping the man and defeating the entire purpose of manliness— which is to bring glory to God. It is not to take away from the greatness of Washington to point to his Maker, because it is for God to make us great and to bring us glory, because all the glory of man was created for God and will glorify Him. God raises up great men at special times to bless a nation. He does that. And moreover, when a nation suffers from lack of great leaders, the people have to wonder if the reason isn’t God bringing judgment.

I’d like to end by encouraging you that the hope of America lies within our own homes (as it always has) and that if we live, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace and law of God, then there is great hope for our nation. But, remember that the destruction of America also lies within our own homes (as it always has).

Malachi 4:4-6 says, “Remember the Law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

If in our youth we learn to be humble and open to instruction from our parents, we will become wise— and Proverbs says, “A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.”

[Proverbs 24:5-6]

And if we are faithful, then the Lord will raise up for our nation a leader as great—even greater—than the Father of our Country, George Washington.