Several ways to be a thoughtful neighbor on the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July weekend is upon us. This calls for charcoal, meat, ice cream, lemonade, friends, family, fireworks, and America. Put on your red, white, and blue, and get ready to celebrate the long weekend!

Celebrations are good. There is value in gathering together with other people to celebrate a common interest. The Fourth of July is especially unique because almost every American citizen can appreciate this holiday. For this reason, Christians should be especially thoughtful in how they celebrate this weekend. As followers of Christ, we should let him be our guide for thoughtful celebrations (consider: the Lord’s Supper and Baptism for starters, alongside many other celebrations in Scripture like the wedding where he turned water to wine in John 2). That said, here are several ways to be a thoughtful neighbor over the July Fourth weekend:

• Invite your neighbors over for food and games. Or, simply let someone know your plans.
• Invite people to watch fireworks together.
• Hang out in the front yard and talk with people who walk by.
• Take a cooler full of pop-ice to the park and hand them out to people.
• Take a meal to someone in the hospital, nursing home, or homebound.
• Pay for someone’s order at Starbucks.
• Avoid talk about politics or the election. Be hopeful.
• Have friends over for ice cream and apple pie.
• Send a veteran or someone actively serving in the military a thank you card.
• Organize a kickball game at the park.

Above all else, remember that our true citizenship is in heaven. We can celebrate America because she’s not the center of our hopes, dreams, and identity. Only God is sufficient to be the center of our lives, but we can celebrate the everyday grace he’s given to us by allowing us to live in this land called America.