Perceptions #23

HOW TO PRAY FOR THE COUNTRY

by Norman Bales

INTRODUCTION As Americans we are a diverse people. One of the things that makes our country strong is the freedom to express diverse opinions. Our country, our leaders and those who work to carry out the task of government need our prayers.

ARE WE A CHRISTIAN NATION? We like to think that our nation is a Christian nation and we even assert that our Founding Fathers were all Christians, but that isn't exactly the way it was. Our Founding Fathers may have been mostly Christians, in a broad sense of the term, but there were some who were not. Thomas Jefferson, for example, did not see us as a nation founded on Christian beliefs. He was a deist, who believed that God created the world like a clock maker, wound it up and let it run without any further interference. He once took scissors and paste to the Bible and made his own Bible leaving in what he liked and taking out what he didn't like. And yet, he's supposed to have written those immortal lines, "all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights . . . " But he didn't see that as a uniquely Christian principle. On another occasion, he wrote about the influence of religion on public morality. He said, " . . . the interests of society require observation of those moral precepts only in which all religions agree." In that he may have been naïve, I'm not sure there is any moral precept on which all religions agree. There was kind of a mixed message from Jefferson. He thought divine Creation was a good reason to break away from the British crown, but he also thought God was really somewhere else in the universe taking care of other business, not paying a whole of attention to things that went on in Philadelphia in 1776.

We really cannot make the claim that the United States is a theocracy. It does not enjoy favored status among the nations like the ancient nation of Israel. In fact if you study history, here in Louisiana, we've really had trouble figuring out what God blessed and what he didn't. The French came in and named the territory after Louis XIV. People thought God was blessing the nation of France. In the early nineteenth century, Napoleon sold it to the United States and then suddenly, God was blessing the USA, but then the state seceded from the union and became a part of the Confederacy and Confederate patriots believed that God was blessing the Confederate States of America. At the conclusion of the war, the state re-entered the union and once again, God was the protector of the USA. It hardly seems logical to think that God changed sides that many times. I'm suggesting that the nation to which we belong is not like the ancient nation of Israel.

THE DIVINE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT On the other hand, we can say that it is a nation under God. We inscribe the words "in God we trust" on our coins and if you'll look at a nickel, those words are right in front of Thomas Jefferson's nose, which kind of attaches a totally different meaning to the phrase, "in your face." Actually, God does have a purpose and use for all civil governments. Even the corrupt government of ancient Rome served God's purpose. Paul was writing about that very government when he said in Romans 13:4 "For he is God's servant to do you good."

God did not intend that people should live in chaos and anarchy. He did not envision a society of barbarians controlled by those with the most gall and the strongest weapons. In his providential design for the human race, God saw government as a means of providing peace, protection perspective and justice as well as being a promoter of the economic well being of the people. To that end, as Christians, we've been given a mandate to pray for, support and honor the powers that be. In Romans 13:1 " Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. "In verse 6 the apostle wrote, "This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing." But it goes beyond obeying and paying taxes. In verse 7, he says we need to give the powers that be respect and honor.

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