February is the month we honor the birthdays of all who have held this nation’s highest office. As the White House recently welcomed new residents, it behooves us to look back to hear what some of our former presidents said about this nation.
In 1863, America was embroiled in a bitter civil war in which state fought against state and brother against brother. Most industry that had previously turned out products to benefit Americans was now redirected toward the war effort. It was hardly a time to reflect on national prosperity.
And yet, in March of that year, President Abraham Lincoln made some profound observations that were not only true then but which ring even more powerfully today. He observed that we, the citizens of these United States had, “…been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.”
Many years before the USA rose to lead the world scientifically, educationally, technologically, and militarily, President Lincoln recognized the open hand of God’s blessing toward this country, even in the midst of vicious war. From our humble beginnings in Jamestown and Plymouth, the nation had grown from seeds in the soil to tassels in the sun. John Smith and William Bradford had no idea how their initial efforts would flourish and proliferate.
How much truer Lincoln’s words echo today as our population has grown exponentially since he made those remarks 162 years ago. We have grown even more in wealth as the US leads the global economy and most of our citizens enjoy lifestyles far above everyone else not only in the world, but also in history. In addition, America’s military might has been unrivaled for many years.
But notice what Lincoln considered the source of these blessings. They were, he said, “the choice bounties of heaven.” Through God’s good favor on this land, all these abundant blessings were enjoyed then and even more so today. Our nation’s leader was wise to acknowledge this truth and wise leaders will do so today.
Lincoln didn’t stop there. He went on to say that in spite of God’s rich bounties, “We have forgotten God.” In that same paragraph he observed, “We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.”
Once again President Lincoln’s astute observations are even more applicable today. Our individual and collective arrogance has claimed the credit and stolen the praise for the many blessings God has poured out richly upon us. We have succumbed to the same temptation God said His own people, the Israelites, had fallen for in Hosea 13:6, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me.” What a concise summary of the USA.
Lincoln concluded, “Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
Not only did our nation’s 16th president diagnose our disease, he also prescribed the cure. Instead of believing we can “Make America Great Again” or “Build Back Better,” we need to bow before the God whom earlier leaders acknowledged, honored and sought. The same medicine will still work today. Let us confess and turn from our sin and seek to obey and honor the God who has richly blessed us. Only then can we enjoy His continued blessings. Praying for this, George
