Stolen Valor, Tarnishing The Sacrifice

When an individual poses wearing government-sanctioned medals, uniforms, or decorations that they are not entitled to wear, they degrade the honor and sacrifices of those rightly wearing the uniform.  How much more concerning is it that those who are not genuine Christians claim to be so?

Stolen righteousness…

This past Sunday, I found myself highlighting the righteousness of Christ, where we are to find ourselves in His righteousness and His merit (His blood), and His righteousness alone (Jeremiah 23:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:9).

As I was preaching (I listen first to what I preach – Isaiah 3:20; John 16:13; Romans 8:14), I caught myself talking about those who claim to be Christ’s, yet bear fruit to the devil (1 John 3:7-8) and how it is that they claim to be what Christ condemns by feigning themselves to be what they are not! In the process, I found the parallel between genuine Christians, which are those who are washed in the blood of Christ from their sins, have the testimonies of Christ, and have entered into the Kingdom of Heaven through the trials and tribulations that they have endured for His name’s sake, and the counterfeit Christians (Matthew 7:21-24;1 John 2:4).

Then I found myself, in the natural (1 Corinthians 2:14), looking to America’s veterans, which are those who have fought, bled, and died in sacrificing themselves for the freedoms we all enjoy today (1 John 15:13).  In the process, I found the parallel between our genuine (war-torn) veterans and those that falsely claim to be veterans who are guilty of “stolen valor.”

… and stolen valor

Stolen valor is the act of falsely claiming to have served in the military or received military decorations or medals.

The sufferings and losses (their buddies, their limbs, etc.) endured by them for us all cannot be overemphasized.  I respect and appreciate every one of them so much so that I honor the laws in which they died ratifying with their blood and sacrifice.

Those who are guilty of stealing that valor (stolen valor tarnishes sacrifice) are taking that which does not belong to them by wearing a uniform that they did not earn to wear.  On the other hand, those who take on the name of Christ and fail to live unto Him who died for them (by receiving what He did for them on the cross and receiving His righteousness by faith; 2 Corinthians 5:15), the Captain of our Salvation (Hebrews 2:10), are the worst of men and guilty imposters who claim to represent God Almighty.