MORNING MANNA         7–4-21

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD….”– Psa. 33:12
We say and we pray “God Bless America”, but it’s not always with understanding. Most people want blessings, but have no desire for the behavior that brings blessings. And as we are, we don’t deserve the blessing we seek. Many Christians are now beginning to wonder, “Should we even pray ‘God bless America'”. Instead of the bumper sticker that says, “God Bless America” we need one that says, “God forgive America”.

Suppose someone you’ve known all your life, we’ll call him “Sam”, called you and lured you away from your home by promising you something. But while you’re gone Sam breaks into your house, robs you of your valuables, rapes your wife, and murders your children. Then you learn he has been doing the same to your friends. How would you respond? Would you pray “God bless Sam”? Being the good Christian you are and having known Sam all your life, you have always wanted Sam to be blessed by the Lord. But, now you discover that Sam has become a liar, thief, rapist, and murderer. I suspect that now your cry would be for justice rather than blessings. And I suspect it would trouble you to hear others praying, “O dear God please bless Sam”.

I never thought I would see the day when it would be a struggle for people to pray “God bless America”, but that’s what I’m seeing. It is a struggle because America has changed. This is not the same America that we once knew. The question is, “Do we have the right to ask God to bless America as she is? Would it not be better to pray, ‘God forgive America so you can bless America’?”

Amazingly there is a sense in which God blesses everyone. He does so because He is good and because His goodness leads people to repentance ( Rom. 2:4). America’s problem is that she wants God’s blessing without meeting His demands. But it doesn’t work that way. Indeed I want America to be blessed by God, but I also realize that she must repent before that can happen to the fullest extent.

Loving America doesn’t mean that we condone everything she does. It doesn’t give us the right to support her sins. Just because the Bible tells us to love our neighbor that doesn’t mean you should be partners in crime with him or provide him an alibi so he can escape conviction. Rather than praying “God bless him and give him good success in his endeavors” you ought to pray “God give him what he needs most. So do whatever it takes to help him and allow him to experience the fullness of your blessings”.

Does that make sense to you? It should. For far too long we’ve asked God to bless those who despise Him. If that seems unpatriotic you are missing the point. True patriotism wants what is best for our nation and in our case that would be a return to the Christian principles upon which our nation was founded. And that would require forgiveness brought about by repentance. So let us pray, “God forgive America so You can bless America”. – HDS