God Bless America?
What do we mean when we say this oft heard phrase? Especially since 9/11, I hear many Christians say this, but have they really thought about what they are saying?
I guess what I’m saying is, by any quantifiable standard, America is the most ‘blessed’ nation the planet has ever seen! Materially we have more than our share. We are blessed to have a say in our government. Education opportunities are plentiful for all people. What more could we possibly be asking for?! ‘No. no. No!’ you say, ‘Ed, you just don’t get it!’ Fair enough. If that’s not what we mean, what do we mean?
Think about the phrase: ‘God bless America’. Why do we say that? Why not ‘God bless all people’? Do we see ourselves as the new Israel? Are we saying that we are God’s chosen nation? There is much evidence to show that many American Christians think just that. This prospect is so disturbing to me, and in such conflict with the New Testament, that I’ll just leave it at that and hope that’s not what we are thinking! I must say that, at the least, it demonstrates a narrow-minded look at the world that fails to take into account the billions of people in the world who aren’t Americans, but who are people made in the image of the living God!
Another way to think about it is; does it fit what we know about God to expect Him to continue to bless America? By this stage it is clear that America, as a whole, has chosen a path that is contrary to the will of God. America has taken it’s blessings, and spent them on itself. America is now concerned less about truth and justice, and more about getting what we want and protecting ‘our interests’. We attack others for selfish purposes and then have the nerve to name these offensives things like ‘Iraqi Freedom’, as if any of this was about freeing people! None of this seems to fit God’s ways. These are the ways of Babylon and Rome. It is the way of Israel and Judah as they increasingly became focused on pleasing themselves and protecting their pleasures.
It’s worth our consideration that in so doing, these nations incurred God’s wrath, primarily because they exploited the poor and oppressed the defenseless. God was pretty clear about His feelings on these matters. He said to His chosen people,
“But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.” ~Jeremiah 22:17
Don’t like that one? How about something from the New Testament?
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.” ~James 5:1fl
What makes us think that God will view America’s behavior any differently? Let me be clear, I’m thankful that I was born and raised in a free country. I think there are many great things about the USA. But let’s not get patriotism and faith mixed up here. I pray for our leaders, but I do not have much faith in them.
My allegiance is to Christ. Jesus lived in a time and place of rampant nationalism that was every bit as fervent as anything in America. How did He act? He mourned Israel’s lost focus, and He sought to teach them a better way. Maybe we should think about that a bit.
What if American Christians began to follow Christ and try to teach our country another way? What if, instead of draping a flag over the cross, we stood up to our own government? What if, instead of thinking the answer was playing the game of politics(Jesus didn’t see that as an answer), we demonstrated how self-sacrifice and love are an answer to the problems we face?
It’s safe to say that this won’t be the most popular thing that I’ve ever written, but I implore you to consider these words. I also welcome your feedback, criticisms, and any other sorts of comments you wish to share.
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Amen! I appreciate your thoughts! The James passage is very appropriate. These thoughts may not be popular, but they are relevant to our day.
Though I can’t speak from an american point of view, I couldn’t agree more. Though its the same with Australia, which is a very blessed country, though I suppose its not as ingrained into society.
The thing that don’t get and always see in the media in relation to American christians, is people who embark on religious crusades where they claim that its in the name of God and Jesus when it is quite contrary to what Jesus taught (though I know that not all american christians are like this). I don’t see how spreading hatred and treating people like lessers is spreading the message. I can’t see how the message gets so distorted and gives a negative stigma to Christians…anyways, way off topic
I think one thing to consider is that surely some people are saying “God bless the US” in the sense of “please” and “protect us from harm” and “may He find favor with us.” While I think it’s true that some are saying “God should protect us since we are the best example of humanity” I think others are saying “Please God, protect this project we have built, because while it is not perfect, we have done the best we can.”
And that’s coming from someone not particularly patriotic.
I think this is a hard topic to really work on, since you can’t determine what people’s motives are - who are they really trying to reach? Who do they really think the most of? Themselves? Or God? You can’t know who are the true believers from a tagline like this. You can only watch their actions - and yes, many may be called down on account of their actions, but surely many more are good people, trying to live forthrightly and spread love and hope. Surely we should know by now that the people on top and most known are the people we should least pay attention to for moral clarity.