Feeling “under the weather?”  His mortgage is “under water.”  It’s hard to buy a home in Seattle for “under half a million.”

Undernourished.  Underappreciated.  Underfunded.  It seems as if under is not where you want to be.  It connotes inadequacy, less than desirable.

But consider this star-spangled exception, written in 1887 by Rear Admiral George Balch.  Revised five years later by Francis Bellamy, this gleaming assertion of love and loyalty was adopted by Congress in 1942.  Want to say it with me?

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Woops, we overlooked one “under.”   In 1954 one magnificent phrase was added:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Only those under His banner, under His pledge of protection will experience God’s gift of everlasting liberty and justice.  Are we, as a nation, under God?  Are you?