Speaking about his faith in a 2022 interview, country music star Craig Morgan discussed his Christian faith and how the tragic loss of his son led him to write him memoir “God, Family, Country.” He described how his constant Christian faith helped him make it through the various losses in his life, and how values like service to country inspired him.
First, Morgan spoke about enlisting in the Army, which he did in 1986. Commenting on the deeply embedded value of service, he said, “There’s the term, ‘Once a soldier, always a soldier,’ and that will forever be true for me. I can honestly say I’m truly grateful for what has happened and has taken place. But there’s still even today, there’s days where I wish that I were back … It’s just who we are. I tell people [that] law enforcement officers, soldiers, they all share that same gene – even EMTs, paramedics – probably even doctors and nurses, I’d venture to say. There’s a gene within our genetic makeup that requires us to want to do for others. A sense of service.”
Continuing, he explained serving during the Operation Just Cause 1989 invasion of Panama, saying, “I had a John Wayne moment. I think I talked about it in the book where we were walking down the street and there was a grenade in the road. And the spoon was on the grenade but the pin had been pulled. And I just walked up and picked it up and stuck a needle in there where the pin went. Everyone else was freaking out and I didn’t even realize what I was doing at the time.”
He then explained on how he left the Army in the early 2000s and became a musician, saying, “I think I still have a lot of the same characters and morals and values. There’s no question about that. But the military taught me a lot.” He added, “It taught me a lot about myself and made me a stronger person. It gave me a different perspective on how fortunate we are, and I think had I not gone over there, I might not have that same depth of appreciation for the freedoms that we have here had I not seen how underprivileged other nations are.”
Morgan then explained how the 2016 death of his son Jerry impacted his faith. He said, “I don’t believe that for one second God took my son from me in order to make me a stronger Christian. I believe that the devil took my son and God allowed it because God knew that my faith was so strong that I would not believe that the devil wasn’t going to win. And that by doing that other people would come to know Him.”
He continued, “And that’s a difficult thing to live with. When you think about Christ, and God gave up Christ, I’m not trying to get on a rant here. But you know, it was the ultimate sacrifice. That’s what we are as humans, and that’s why I love the military so much. These people are willing to put themselves in harm’s way for the betterment of someone else. That’s what makes us a great nation.”
He then explained why remaining hopeful is critical, even in tough times, saying, “Do good for the betterment of not only ourselves but others. Sometimes we’re going to experience heartache and hardship and I do believe that sometimes that pain that we experienced in our life, whether it be physical or emotional, spiritual, whatever it is, it might not necessarily always be just for us.”
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