On July 30, 1956, “In God We Trust” became our national motto. Is trusting God still part of our national DNA? I believe it is.
It is a fact that American principles and values come to us through our Judeo-Christian heritage. Our belief in the dignity of every human life, of equality, and of free will comes from God. Our belief in hard work and charity comes from God. Our belief in justice and mercy comes from God. None of these ideas come naturally to human beings, they are godly values not human ones.
Trusting God begins with the humble recognition that these are His ideas - not ours. Our Creator has given us these things, and so much more, for our benefit!
John Adams famously said: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Human beings are not angels. Human beings are not God. We are imperfect and selfish creatures. Human beings are sinful.
Isn’t it interesting that there are those who diligently work to purge the idea of sin from our culture? Who tell us that people are “good,” when we are not? As a pastor, I fell into the trap of preaching and teaching about things that made people feel good about themselves, but rarely about sin. Please forgive me!
We need to fight back against the cancel culture that is trying it’s damndest to cancel God and at the same time put itself in His place. They have already done a good job of purging God from our government, our schools, our entertainment and even some churches. Enough is enough.
What Americans need right now is a refresher course in what it means to trust the One True God.
Lesson Number One: “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
Until we recognize we are all sinners, we will never trust God, we will never know the good He has in mind for us, and we will never fully experience how deep His love for us really is.
Admit you are a sinner. Admit that you are not perfect. Admit that you are not always good. Admit that you are selfish. Admit you fall short of God’s standards. Look around, everyone else is a sinner too.
Then, start trusting God.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Romans 3:23-24
