What Do We Owe God, Family, And Country?

Start with a prayer, end with a charge: shape your home, your habits, and your community with a faith that actually shows up. We unpack why ideology—not race, origin, or labels—drives the health of a nation, and how Scripture forms the compass that keeps our steps steady when headlines distract. The path runs through Titus 2’s call to self-control and stewardship, Matthew 18’s vision of humility and honest correction, and the Psalms’ conviction that God does not ignore the suffering. Proverbs grounds the heart at home, honoring fidelity and joy in marriage as guardrails for personal integrity and public trust.

We then hold up a living picture of courage in the Medal of Honor story of Major Patrick H. Brady, who flew into fog, fire, and minefields to save the wounded. That kind of sacrifice reframes comfort and asks a simple question: if the storm clouds gather, what will we give? From there, we turn to Benjamin Rush and George Washington to recover the model of reluctant leadership—love private life, but answer when called; refuse neutrality without giving in to rage; order your loyalties from God and family to community and nation. Wealth becomes a tool for service, work outpaces amusement, and popularity bows to judgment and the common good.

This is a candid, Scripture-shaped conversation about character, citizenship, and the ordered loves that keep a republic strong. Expect practical prompts for the stands at a basketball game, the kitchen table at night, and the hard choices that define public trust. Listen, reflect, and share with someone who’s ready to trade outrage for responsibility. If the episode helps, subscribe, leave a five-star review, and pass it on—what virtue do you think our country needs most right now?

#BenjaminRush #GeorgeWashington #DailyScripture 

Transcript

Welcome, Prayer, And Intent

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, and whatever part of the day you're in. Sure do appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention. I will try and use it wisely. Hope y'all are getting to listen to the podcast with somebody else. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others, tell others about it. Thank you. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very much. Very, very grateful for your prayers. Need them and want them. Father, thank you for today.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Thank you for you, Father, and your son, Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Thank you for the people that listen to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Please be with them, Father. Be with their families, guide them, and bless them, surround them with your angels, protect them from evil of any kind.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Guide us, Lord, in all that we do. Help us to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. To love our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us when we fail. Forgive us when we choose to go our own way. Forgive us when we abandon the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy. The least of these. Help us to focus on being on your side. Because we know that your side is always the right side. Help us to focus on getting our priorities in line with you. Help us to store it for ourselves. Treasures in heaven, not here on earth.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Be with our military law enforcement firefighters. EMFs. Keep them safe. Protect them. Surround them with your angels, particularly our ICE agents today in the United States. Guide them.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

As they do their job, Father, keep them safe and protect them. Be with our doctors, nurses, all of our medical staff across the country. Give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith. Be with our leaders.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Give them wisdom, courage, and a strong faith.

Security Ironies And Ideology Over Identity

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Help them to rule in fear of you, Father. And be with those who are scared and alone, anxious, sad, brokenhearted. Draw them close to you. And God my word to your father placing your son's name and pray. I saw a post today, I think, maybe in the last couple days, talking about it was a joke, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:22

It was one of one of those memes that are so sad but true. It was talking about the fact that over the last 20 plus years since 9-11, as a American citizen, you can't get on a plane, you know, with a 3.5-ounce bottle of fluid.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

But it said these Somalis, because they're not really Americans, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

You can't be an American but wave the flag of another country, support financially another country, send all your money and your everything back to another country, right? That's not you're not loving America. So you're not really an American. But it's talking about how these Somalis have been able over the last several years, decade plus, whatever, to get all this cash on these planes. You know, the irony of it. But we're missing a huge point, right? And I get why a lot of people are doing it, because uh these people are in fact Somalis.

Titus 2 And Everyday Conduct

SPEAKER_01 4:33

But here's a couple little tidbits for you to think about. Ninety-nine percent of Somalians. Ninety-nine point nine actually are Muslim. In Minnesota, particularly in Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is seventy percent of the population, the voting population in the left couple few election cycles has voted for the left. It would be interesting to break down the percentage of people that voted for the right, but who claim that our nation is not a Christian nation. Christless conservatism. But those three predominant ideologies are the cancer folks. And we need to focus on the cancer. The fact that these people come from Somalia geographically is irrelevant. Could be anywhere, doesn't really matter. Skin color is irrelevant, gender is irrelevant. Ideology is the key. Marriage verse for today comes from Titus chapter two. And I think we'll start with verse one.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

Why not? As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the Word of God. In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can't be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us. The next time you go to a sporting event, perhaps particularly basketball, since that's the predominant season we're in, as a man, think about whether you are exercising self-control, whether you're acting in a way that's worthy of respect, whether people would label you as wise based on how you're spending your time and the way you're acting in the stands.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

And as a woman, if you claim to follow Christ, look at your lifestyle. Are you working in your home? Are you a home maker, keeper? Are you submissive to your husband?

Humility, Children, And Church Discipline

Praise, Justice, And Fidelity In The Psalms

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Do you put your husband first before anything else, including your children, save God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit? If we claim to follow Christ, folks, we ought to act like we follow Christ. Not perfectly. We're never going to be perfect. But we shouldn't use that excuse as a crutch to increase our lack of perfection. Scripture for today, Matthew, start verse uh chapter 18, verse 1 to 20. About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones to who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. What sorrow awaits the world because it tempts people to sin? Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting? So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better to enter eternal life with only one eye than have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills? And go out to search for the one that is lost. And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away. In the same way it is not my heavenly father, my heavenly father's will that even one of these little ones should perish. If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person lists and confesses it, you have won back that person. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church, then if he or she won't accept the church's decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. I tell you this also if two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. Psalm twenty two verse nineteen through thirty one. O Lord, do not stay far away. You are my strength, come quickly to my aid. Save me from the sword, spare my precious life from these dogs, snatch me from the lion's jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen. I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people. Praise the Lord, all you who fear him, honor him, all you descendants of Jacob. Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel. For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help. I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you. The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him, their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord, he rules all the nations. Let the rich of the earth feast and worship, bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end this dust. Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Proverbs fifteen through twenty one.

Proverbs On Marriage And Fidelity

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Drink water from your own well. Share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves, never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving dear, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes Medal of Honor for today comes from or is sorry Patrick H.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Brady.

Medal Of Honor: Maj. Patrick H. Brady

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Patrick Henry Brady, Major, highest rank major general, Vietnam War, Medical Service Corps, fifty four Medical Detachment, fifty fourth Medical Detachment, sixty seventh Medical Group, forty fourth Medical Brigade, U.S. Army, january sixth, nineteen sixty eight, near Chulai, Republic of Vietnam. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Major Brady distinguished himself while serving in the Republic of Vietnam, commanding a UH one H ambulance helicopter, volunteered to rescue wounded men from a site in enemy held territory, which was reported to be heavily defended and to be blanketed by fog. To reach the site he descended through heavy fog and smoke and hovered slowly along the valley trail, turning his ship sideward to blow away the fog with a backwash from his rotor blades. Despite the unchallenged, close range enemy fire, he found the dangerously small site where he successfully landed and evacuated two badly wounded South Vietnamese soldiers. He was then called to another area completely covered by dense fog where American casualties lay only 50 meters from the enemy. Two aircraft had previously been shot down, and others had made unsuccessful attempts to reach this site earlier in the day. With unmatched skill and extraordinary courage, Major Brady made four flights to this embattled landing zone and successfully rescued all of the wounded. On his third mission of the day, Major Brady once again landed at a site surrounded by the enemy. The friendly ground force pinned down by enemy fire had been unable to reach and secure the landing zone. Although his aircraft had been badly damaged and his controls partially shot away during his initial entry into the area. He returned minutes later and rescued the remaining injured. Shortly thereafter, obtaining a replacement aircraft, Major Brady was requested to land in an enemy minefield where a platoon of American soldiers was trapped. A mine detonated near his helicopter, wounding two crew members and damaging his ship. In spite of this, he managed to fly six severely injured patients to medical aid. Throughout that day, Major Brady utilized three helicopters to evacuate a total of fifty-one seriously wounded men, many of whom would have perished without prompt medical treatment. Major Brady's bravery was in the highest tradition of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army. Accredited to Seattle, King County, Washington, not awarded posthumously. Presented October 9, 1969 in the White House by President Richard M. Nixon, born October 1st, 1936, Philip, Hakken County, South Dakota.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

Patrick Henry Brady.

Founders On Duty And Reluctant Leadership

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Two thoughts. One, when I was reading about him evacuating the South Vietnamese soldiers, I'm reminded of my father's comments, who was an artillery officer for the Marine Corps in Vietnam, of how heartbreaking it was when we abandoned the South Vietnamese. I felt something very much akin to that when we abandoned Afghanistan and left those who had helped us there to the evils of the Muslims that were going to absolutely execute, torture, and execute, rape them, kill them, pillage them, plunder them. And the other thing is we should be looking at ourselves in the mirror today, folks, because we have a lot of storm clouds gathering on the horizon and asking ourselves, preparing ourselves for the need to offer as much as these men. And it's not just Major Brady here, right? You read the other two pilots and helicopters had been shot down. Those men were willing to risk just as much. They just weren't able to get in and out for whatever reason. You know, you go back to Stonewall Jackson's quote about I know God, God knows when I'm going to die, where I'm going to die, how I'm going to die. I can't concern myself with that. That's not my concern. Mine is just to do the best I can with the time I have. So as I was looking for getting ready for this podcast, I stumbled across some quotes that I had reason to be interested in of late. There's two, there's a lot of these kind of quotes from our founding fathers' era. There's two I'm going to read. The first is from Benjamin Rush, and it's out of his essays, Philosophical and Moral, that we've read from before. Talking about the public servant, he must love private life, but he must decline no station, however public or responsible it may be when called to it by the suffrages, the vote of his fellow citizens. George Washington from his farewell address, September 19, 1796. The acceptance of and continuance hitherto in the Office to which your suffrages votes again have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I'm going to read a little bit out of Russia's essays, Philosophical and Moral, around this quote that I read from him. But the bottom line is, folks, we shouldn't go seeking. And you know, we have quite a few people today that seek political office. We shouldn't go seeking it. But if somebody comes up to you and asks you to serve, we have a responsibility to God, to our country, to our fellow citizens to serve in that role for however long our fellow citizens desire us to serve there and do the best job we can.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Right? And I think that attitude is missing quite a bit.

Ordered Loves: God, Family, Community, Nation

SPEAKER_00 21:02

So this is out of Russia's book from early 1800s, I think. We've read it quite a bit on here. This is again the essay's philosophical moral literary, I think. Next to the duty which young men owe to their creator, I wish to see a regard to their country inculcated upon them. When the Duke of Sully became prime minister to Henry IV of France, the first thing he did, he tells us, was to subdue and forget his own heart. The same duty is incumbent upon every citizen of a republic. Our country includes family, friends, and property, and should be preferred to them all. Let our pupil be taught that he does not belong to himself, but that he is public property. Let him be taught to love his family, but let him be taught at the same time that he must forsake and even forget them when the welfare of his country requires him. He must watch for the state as if its liberties depended upon his vigilance alone. But he must do this in such a manner as not to defraud his creditors or neglect his family. He must love private life, but he must decline no station, however public or responsible it may be, when called to it by the suffrages of his fellow citizens. He must love popularity, but he must despise it when set in competition with the dictates of his judgment or the real interest of his country. He must love character and have a due sense of injuries, but he must be taught to appeal only to the laws of the state, to defend the one and punish the other. He must love family honor, but he must be taught that neither the rank nor antiquity of his ancestors can command respect without personal merit. He must avoid neutrality in all questions that divide the state, but he must shun the rage and acrimony of party spirit. He must be taught to love his fellow creatures in every part of the world, but he must cherish with a more intense and peculiar affection the citizens of Pennsylvania and of the United States. This was tailored toward Pennsylvania. So obviously, whatever state you live in, whatever county, whatever region, right, that's the order you go through. I think our vice president talked about this, right? You love all people, but obviously the closer you get to the home, the more those people have a right. They have a claim to you. You know, your spouse, your children, they have a claim to you. Before your parents, even, before your family, extended family, before your community. But your community has a right to you before the state. Your state has a right to you before the nation. Your nation has a right to you before other places around the world, right? I do not wish to see our youth educated with a single prejudice against any nation or country, but we impose a talk, a task upon human nature repungent alike to reason, revelation, and the ordinary dimensions of the human heart, when we require him to embrace with equal affection the whole family of mankind. He must be taught to amass wealth, but it must be only to increase his power of contributing to the wants and demands of the state. He must be indulged occasionally in amusements, but he must be taught that study and benefits should be his principal pursuits in life. Business should be his principal pursuits in life. Above all, he must love life and endeavor to acquire as many of its conveniences as possible by industry and economy, but he must be taught that this life is not his own, when the safety of his country requires it. You remember that earlier he says, right, a Christian cannot fail of being useful to the Republic for his religion teacheth him that no man liveth to himself.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Rush knew that you needed Christianity in order to really have a strong republic.

Wealth, Work, And Sacrifice For The Republic

SPEAKER_00 25:55

If you are looking for a family-friendly middle grade read along the lines of Narnia, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, but hopefully, if I did my job all right, a little bit uh a lot more in line with the principles of Jesus Christ and God, if you would check out uh the countryside series, I would be grateful if you enjoy it. If you'd leave a review for the first and the second book, or if you read them, both. And if you feel like you're getting something out of the podcast, if you would leave a review online somewhere, the five-star reviews help immensely. And if you have five or ten dollars a month, you can donate to the podcast, it helps a great deal.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Also, if you would rather listen to the podcast on YouTube, it's there now, or you know someone that would.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Our Father, who art in heaven, how be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil. But thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless America. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world listening. We'll talk to you all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.