Christian Humility in the Face of American Reality

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:

Behold, I will refine them and try them; for how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?

Their tongue is an arrow shot out; it speaks deceit;

One speaks peaceably with his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lies in wait.

Shall I not punish them for these things?' says the Lord.

'Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?'

- Jeremiah 9:7-9

We're coming up on the 4th of July again, and I expect this year's celebration to be among the most nationalistic/patriotic/humanistic holidays of recent decades. Now don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to be an American. I enjoy the freedom to worship God publically, raise my children to love Jesus, and live with those inalienable rights we claim God has given to us (although I'm not sure the God of the Bible would have prioritized "the pursuit of happiness").


However, there are increasingly times when I look at our country and cringe in shame, especially in the midst of our current America = God's Country political revival. I've been uncomfortable with that equation for years, but now it seems to be on the rise again. It's as if we've forgotten our own history. So. here's a recap of some of the highlights:


1776 - American Revolution: Did you know that a synonym for revolution is rebellion? Other synonyms include coup, insurgency, mutiny, revolt, turmoil, and violence. I don't see much "fruit of the Spirit" in there, do you? Moreover, this uprising was spurred primarily by economic factors rather than the religious principles we so often associate with the founding of our nation.


1787 - Three-Fifths Compromise: In an effort to determine how many representatives states should be allowed to have in the US House of Representatives, an intentional choice was made to establish in our constitution that a slave would be counted as 3/5ths of a person. While not recognizing slaves a human beings, this practice allowed slaveholder interests to have an unfair advantage in federal politics.


1787 - The Northwest Ordinance: This commitment to ensure that Native Americans were to treated "with utmost faith" and specified that "their lands and property shall never be taken away from them without their consent," is one of the most horrendous examples of America dishonesty. (for more along these lines see this article.) Also, consider the following map of the USA:

1861 - After legally valid secession by several states from the United States of America a few months earlier, a new country is formed, the Confederate States of America. In response to that nations effort to dislodge Union forces from their lands, President Abraham Lincoln led the North in an unconstitutional war which was not motivated by Lincoln's desire to end slavery.  In fact, Lincoln is quoted as saying "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union." (Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22. 1862). Lincoln also overturned the declarations of his generals which freed the slaves of defeated southerners, and held the Emancipation Proclamation on his desk for months before issuing it as the war ended the terminus of it's second year.


.....Now that I've primed the pump, I'm sure there are other examples you can think of. In fact, I'm sure you're already thinking about things like women's right, racial equality, the expulsion of God from the public square, and a host of other real and imagined issues...


My point is not to bash the USA. (I'll leave that to others today.) Rather, my goal is to challenge us to take a realistic look at ourselves. So, as we enter this season of patriotic thought and reflection, let's do so alongside a healthy dose of historical reality. America is a blessed country, but it is not God's Country. America has made some great strides, but we've done so quite often in an effort to cover our own sins and mistakes. America has become a dominant force in the world (which could be either a good or a bad thing), but we've often done it by standing on the broken backs of others.


If we have any righteousness as a people, we also have sin. We've got plenty of pride; we need some humility, and some action to go with it. After all, if God did not spare Israel, how can we so proudly declare (as one prominent politician recently did) that "God is on our side"?

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people."

- Proverb 14:34 (ESV)