Today is Washington’s Birthday
Americans used to celebrate George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays as distinct state and local holidays. In 1971, Congress decided to combine the celebrations into one federal President’s Day holiday in order to have a consistent 3-day weekend. While I applaud the efficiency of the act, I’m not enthusiastic about elevating other Presidents to the same level as Washington and Lincoln.
Some men, by their words and deeds, rise above the crowd. Few men, through exceptional words and deeds, rise to greatness. If you subscribe to the “great man” theory of history, George Washington stands out as one of America’s greatest. Biographer, James Thomas Flexner, alludes to this point in the title of his 1994 book: Washington: The Indispensable Man.
Flexner understood George Washington perhaps better than any other scholar. His 1994 book was an attempt to condense his four volume, Pulitzer Prize winning set of books published in the early 1970s. I read all four original volumes of Washington’s biography and it was captivating. There’s too much content in his amazing story to recount in this blog. However, there’s one significant act that seals the greatness of the man: When offered the crown, Washington turned it down!
In 1782, senior officers in the Continental army suggested to Washington that he should assume the crown and become an American king. Washington’s written refusal is clear, “Let me beseech you, then, if you have any regard for your country, concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind.”
This was a pivotal moment in world history. General Washington could have easily conquered the weak government of the newly independent United States. Most colonists would have been comfortable with having a king, because they were used to a monarchy. Likewise, Washington was probably popular enough to hold onto power. Yet, like Christ tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:8-10), Washington rejected an earthly crown for something far greater than temporal power.
Yes, today is President George Washington’s Birthday and you should celebrate it with gratitude to God for the man He sent to reject a crown.