In 2001 the attack on the World Trade Center as well as the other tragedies surrounding the terrorist attacks, shook the world. The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities and countless numbers of injuries to persons and property. The loss of life, the magnitude of the destruction, and the effect of creating terror, had an interesting effect on our country at the time. Fear, anger, resolve, worry, an overwhelming sense of patriotism, even a sense of spiritual awakening flooded our country. At the time I was preaching in the book of 1 Chronicles, but because of the current event and the magnitude and importance of the time, I dropped everything and devoted three sermons following the attack. They were centered around the phrase “God Bless America”. Since that phrase was being thrown around by every politician and person who either wrote about the attacks or were on television at the time, I wanted to place some tension on what “God Bless America” meant, so I am sharing a few notes from those messages.
What are people asking for when they say God bless America? Are they asking for economic blessing? We are the richest nation in the world. Are they asking for agricultural blessing? We are the world’s largest procurer and consumer of food. Are they asking for the ground to be blessed? We have some of the most fertile expanse on earth and already feed the world. Are they asking God to bless our military? We already have the most powerful military on earth. How about prosperity, are they asking for prosperity? We are so prosperous we are the envy of the world, so why ask for that. Does America really want God to bless America as a nation from His perspective, on His terms? What would that look like?
During that time, I read and listened to many different takes on what happened as people sorted through the horrific experience and surveyed the rubble and ruin of the aftermath of the attack. At that time, I was in the Chicagoland area and was reading the Daily Herald Newspaper. Yes! That thing called a newspaper with words written on it that caused your fingers to turn black from filtering through it. I read how the radio stations started to monitor what they played across the airwaves, culling out offensive music. The article stated, “Radio officials were trying to avoid offending listeners raw emotions when they decided to urge their stations not to play a list of more than 100 songs.” They actually censored their music! The article went on to say: “Now that we have experienced destruction and death in the arena of reality, however, it does make us reflect on why we like so much violence in our entertainment. Is it just to work out our aggressive impulses harmlessly? Or is it something some of us may want to turn off now that it has gotten so uncomfortably close.” At that time, it took a horrendous tragedy to admit to the negative effects of unfiltered communication through music and entertainment. All across the country these kinds of things were occurring, we were admitting but not fully repenting of certain negative aspects within our society which only added to this horrific tragedy.
I read about schools beginning to recite the pledge of allegiance again, and get this, having prayer meetings! That’s right, some public schools were having prayer meetings. Another article was titled “Life Will Be Different in America Now But In What Ways”. The article talked about travel, and people moving from big cities, tourist travel and how air travel would change. Nothing was said of spiritual change in the wake of this tragedy, and certainly nothing about the transformational effects of the gospel that would cause life to “Be Different in America”. We had people from the community visiting our church but not staying for long. It seemed like people were being drawn to a kind of safety in “religion”, but not a “relationship” with the Christ of religion.
Searching for Answers
People were searching for answers with the best of intentions. Tragedy often awakens a sense of deep need, sadly and tragically too often people rally around fulfillment that is temporary. America’s response at that time only underlined and highlighted the spiritual blindness and towering rubble of darkness that pervades the heart of man. Man has the sinful propensity to draw near to temporary panacea’s, to find solutions outside of the righteousness imputed in Christ through the gospel. Better protection and control by the government, more secular dialogue, more whatever trumps true repentance. The greatest tragedy of all tragedies is the spiritual rubble that our country needs to dig out of, but will not, because the gospel is too offensive, and a righteous life to them seems to confine. They have no fear of God as Paul describes in Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
What spiritual change has occurred since the tragedy of 9/11? I’m not sure of any, really. The unrest in our country that we see on a constant basis still abounds. This unrest is a constant reminder of man’s brokenness and is a reflection of the unrest He has with his Creator. Mistreatment, injustice, and a host of other social issues plague our society. People are being sinned against and people are sinning. Man has only a temporary panacea for social issues as well as the broader threat of terrorism. Man’s “fix” is to patch society’s ills through censure, laws, and attempts at moral reform. Man has no wisdom in the things concerning society because he does not fear the Lord, therefore his “fix” is inadequate and insufficient. More laws, more money thrown at social improvement, more speeches, more of the same, but with no change.
It is no wonder that man’s knowledge to address society’s ills is faulty. His source of truth is within himself; he has no insight from a reliable source, the Word of God. Man’s epistemology is within the scope of human reasoning, his knowledge is totally horizontally derived, his beliefs are self-described. Societal ills are self-perpetuating because of the faulty earthly sources of knowledge. Since the beginning of time there has been murder, deceit, racial tension, social unrest, hate, cultural war, rumors of wars, and outright war. It is the same thing all the time but only dressed differently. Reckless sin is the driving force; but the gospel is the divine source for man’s brokenness. Sin has brought so much reproach upon our reckless nation. Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Righteousness exalts a nation when righteousness is lived out in the believer, who lives out the righteousness imputed in them in Christ. (Romans 5:12-21, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 2:29, 3:10) Believers living out the righteousness of Christ in the midst of a nation of people who need Christ is what exalts a nation.
A Nation Full of Riches
If anything, our nation is rich because of the transformational effect of the gospel that produced wisdom and righteousness in the believers who are its citizens. The people of our nation have gloried in shame and perverted any sense of righteousness. But God has actually blessed our nation with His redeemed people as we will explain later. Our nation has become calloused to sin, that is nothing new, and that is why we should be burdened to reach out to the lost in our community and across our nation. We should have a desire to live a righteous life and propagate righteous living by being an active witness for Christ. Without Christ we have no witness, no righteousness, no wisdom, no ability to truly serve our nation in its confused and directionless state of being. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
When you see the fireworks bursting forth on the fourth of July in all of its radiance and glory, lock into the fact that we should be bursting forth with praise to His radiance and glory, within His blessing, within gospel hope and the sole cure for a broken sinful nation. (Hebrews 1:3, Ephesians 1:5, 6, 12, 14) I encourage you to be a witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as this nation as a people are on a collision course with sin at breakneck speed!
Where True Richness Resides
The book of Proverbs is described as wisdom literature in our Bible. It is a book addressing ethical choices, wisdom, instruction, and practical ways to live out righteousness. The big idea of this book is found in two of its statements concerning knowledge and wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Each verse communicates where knowledge and wisdom begin, “in the fear of the Lord”. This is where true richness resides.
We gain wisdom and knowledge in the fear of the Lord as we spend personal time in the study of His Word and prayer, as well as hearing God’s Word taught and preached. There are other ways we grow in getting to know God intimately and personally, however personal time in His Word and prayer are key ways we grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18) We begin to know and understand God and our relationship grows as we develop a greater understanding of Him. Our respect, honor, worship, and reverential fear of Him grows, our desire to live out a righteous life increases. A greater knowledge of the fear of the Lord causes a greater sense of awe and respect for His majesty, of who He is, of how He communicates to us wisdom and knowledge. As we grow in our desire and motivation to exercise wisdom and knowledge in the fear of the Lord, we grow in confidence, we find rest and peace, we learn how to avoid sin and live righteously. Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. A righteous life is built on wisdom, and wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord motivates us to use that knowledge to live righteously.
There are many explicit contrasts made in Proverbs. Wisdom and folly are major themes that are contrasted as well as righteous and unrighteous behavior, there are other contrasted themes as well. Many wise truths are easily understood and applied to everyday life in this book. Most of the proverbs are couplets of wise statements, or stand-alone words of wisdom. Such is Proverbs 14:34, Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. This verse is self-explanatory, righteousness is a virtue to a nation, and the contrast is that sin is destructive, a reproach, shame, or disgrace to a nation. Here righteousness is given in the sense of justice and honest dealing being practiced and acted out righteously. Wisdom is linked to righteousness in that a wise person is living righteously and guarding themselves from reproachful living.
In general, this passage is relevant to any nation. People who live in an unrighteous manner bring reproach to a nation. We as believers are a people who should have an opposite effect upon our nation, as we live our lives righteously before our nation. Righteousness is not something that is intuitive, human beings are born into sin. Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. We have no true inner intuitive wisdom, as the Psalmist described above, “You will make me know wisdom”. Wisdom is imparted to us from God and causes us to behave differently than the world around us. (James 3:17,18) When we lack wisdom, as we so often do, we ask God who imparts His wisdom to live righteously.
How God Blesses America
Righteousness is not exalted among the people of our nation, but sin surely is practiced in every form. The answer to our nation’s ills is in the gospel, the gospel that changed you and me and created a desire in our own hearts to live a life of righteousness. We as believers offer to our neighbors a look into how God can and does bless America every day. Everyday someone accepts Christ and begins to live a righteous life for the glory of God. Everyday those who know Christ are being transformed into His image and living more righteously in this present world. (Titus 2:11-13) This world is blessed because God is raising up a righteous people as the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
We learn in the Titus 2 passage that grace appeared, grace teaches, and grace prepares us for the future providing for us in this “present age” the means to live righteously. We live between the appearing of grace and the appearing of glory in this “present age”, and between those bookends we live out a righteous life before the world by grace. That is God’s blessing upon America, God doing a work of righteousness in a person’s life in order that they may live righteously before this nation.
The Father loved us so much that He transformed us into “children of God, and so we are”, the world does not recognize us because it does “not know Him”. So, as we live among a world of unbelief and hopelessness, we place our hope in Him, “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3). Our ethical choices, morality, and wisdom is lived out in practical ways by and through our imputed righteousness. We live within the wisdom and knowledge of the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 9:10) Remember, Proverbs is a book addressing ethical choices, wisdom, instruction, and practical ways to live out righteousness. We are a people within a nation that live by a standard that the world rejects thus they are always in an upheaval. Ignorant of their blindness to sin, they continually act out unrighteous behavior. They are at odds with their Creator whereas we are in harmony with our Creator and that is the difference.
How Can We Bless Our Nation
So how do we respond as ambassadors for Christ, with kingdom purposes in mind, in a nation that has garnered so much reproach? (2 Corinthians 5:20, Matthew 6:33). There are a few ways. First, share the gospel as the Lord opens doors of opportunity with urgency in mind. ”we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Second, live righteously before the world as a testimony of the transformational effects of the gospel. (Ephesians 5:8) Be confident in the gospel, the heart of man is transformed by the gospel, (2 Corinthians 5:17), and then all his desires and affections are turned toward heavenly purposes (Colossians 3:1-3). You have witnessed that in your life and in the lives of others. Be confident. Next, we not only live by the example Jesus modeled, but the world around us needs to see Christ by His life being lived through us. (1 Peter 2:21) One of God’s blessings upon America is in our freedom to advance the gospel without hinderance in a free society. The answer to social unrest and injustice is in Him. When we say, “God Bless America”, we need to remind ourselves that God will use us as a gospel witness to do so.
God is blessing a people within a nation that have been transformed to live a righteous life by the gospel. This is what will cure man’s ills and cause Americans to live justly, fairly, and righteously, before God and man. I say God Bless America! But I say this according to His will and purpose. I say this being a citizen of another kingdom, who follows another Ruler, and obeys another government that rules over my heart through the power of the gospel. Live righteously, live with God’s glory and radiance at the forefront of your mind, live for others by sharing the gospel. Let’s proclaim loudly, God Bless America, through His people and for His glory!