2 Samuel 15:19-22 — Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.

Perhaps my thoughts today are not entirely devotional — but I hope you’ll feel they’re appropriate.
Year by year members of the US military die in active service. Since 1980 the lowest count has been about 800. The highest has been about 2500. Consistently, year by year, people pay the ultimate price to serve this country.
According to various media reports at VA hospitals and clinics across the country, more than three dozen veterans have died while waiting for care.
About 5% of the people serving in the US military are not citizens.
What do all these facts add up to?
When David returned from exile in Gath, he brought 600 Gittites — Philistines — as a sort of bodyguard. When Absalom rebelled against his father David and David was forced to flee, Ittai — the leader of the Gittites — went with him. When David tried to send him away, Ittai refused to leave his place. “No”, he said, “I’m staying with you.” He stayed, and so did his men, and their families.
Do you feel the contrast here? Ittai and his men were committed to David. David was committed to Ittai and his men. Today the US military is committed. But the government isn’t good at showing that same commitment in return. And what’s the cause?
There was a time when the king was plainly God’s choice. King and commanders had a shared understanding of their place in the world. Now it’s not even clear that government and those leading our soldiers share the same basic understanding of the mission. It is desperately clear that there is a failure of commitment from the government to those soldiers to those who are ready to lay down their lives. How could such a thing be?
I believe that as little as fifty to sixty years ago there was a common Christian frame of reference that bound government and troops. There’s been a conscious attempt, ever since, to destroy that frame of reference. Without that identity of belief, it is no surprise that Memorial Day is increasingly no more than another excuse for a day away from work, a party, and another tag for sellers to put on sales.
I long for us to recapture the hearts and minds of Americans, restore Memorial Day to its proper place and reward the commitment of our troops with the loyalty it should demand.