Our Flag’s Dignity

On July 1st, we’ll celebrate Canada’s 156th anniversary of confederation. That usually means that, right about now, there are a lot of Canadian flags flying. Did you know that the government of Canada has several web pages dedicated to preserving the dignity of the Canadian flag? You can access these guidelines (they’re not laws) at this link if you’re interested.

For instance, we preserve the flag’s dignity by using it only for its intended purpose. That’s why the website discourages using the flag as a cape or a tablecloth. We also preserve the flag’s dignity by being careful with it. Thus, the website shows how and where to hang a flag properly and how to dispose of it if it’s damaged.

But why do we Canadians want to preserve our flag’s dignity? Why would we want to honour or esteem our flag? We care about the Canadian flag’s dignity because it represents something. It represents our country, our land, our people. We give it dignity because it is an image that refers to something greater than itself.

I notice a similarity here with how we should preserve the dignity of human beings who are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). Consider this description of Jesus: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). This is the one in whose image humans are made. Jesus is the reason we would want to preserve the dignity of our fellow human beings. As humans, we don’t contrive our own dignity or invent ourselves. Human dignity is a God-given gift founded on our resemblance to our Creator.

However, the Bible explains why our world doesn’t always see things this way. We are made in God’s image, but humans “became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:23). We habitually refuse to live out our intended purpose—to display the image of God. We try to create our own dignity instead. In doing this, we are often not careful with ourselves or each other. Consider how often we thoughtlessly speak a cruel word or dismiss someone’s deep struggle.

God has not designed us to live without purpose or carelessly. This is most clearly seen in the gospel where God the Father sent God the Son so that God the Holy Spirit could transform us into clearer images of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). Every human being’s greatest weakness is when we don’t know Jesus. Our greatest strength is becoming God’s children—Jesus’ siblings. That’s why John can write, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when [Jesus] appears we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

So it seems to me that the way we can preserve the dignity of God’s image bearers isn’t all that different from how we should treat our flag: with its purpose in mind and carefully. So here’s your challenge, Central:

Whenever you see a flag this Canada Day weekend, consider how to preserve the dignity of God’s image in yourself and those around you.