Is America Great?

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers - and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce - and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution - and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

WOW!  What a great quote!  It has been attributed to Alexis de Toqueville from his book, Democracy in America, but the quote is nowhere to be found in that book. President Eisenhower used that quote in a speech and credited 'a famous philosopher.' Whoever wrote it deserves kudos and not just for introducing me to the word commodious, which I fully intend to incorporate into my vocabulary!

Regardless who the author was that penned those words, I think it brings up good points to ponder:  Is America great?  Is America good?  Have we started to descend from a truly great country to a mediocre one or worse?  I don't want to be overly pessimistic or alarmist, but I think one would have to not be paying attention to conclude that we're heading in the right direction.

Psalm 33:12

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

Cornerstone

I read a statistic that was pretty startling: In a recent Gallup poll, 40% of Americans say they go to church every Sunday, but in truth, less than 20% are actually in church.  So not only are a sizable proportion of Americans not attending church, but they are lying about being there.  I've read much about this and the reasons for this falling away are many.

I think it needs to be understood that we have abandoned God.  He has not abandoned us.  I think it grieves Him to see how we have turned our backs on Him. We have become more coarse as a people and our morals and values are no longer derived from the Bible.  We now call good evil, and evil good.  We are greedy and materialistic and seek to fill a void in our lives with things instead of the God of the Universe.  As a result, we are empty and medicate ourselves with legal (and illegal) substances.  Suicides are on the increase as people who are hopeless seek a permanent solution for a temporary problem.  Would the person who penned the quote I opened the post with still feel the same about America?

The author of that quote mentioned that when they went into America's churches, their pulpits were aflame with righteousness.  My Bible tells me that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  If less than 20% of Americans aren't in church, and of those who are in church, some are in churches that aren't preaching the Word of God, I'd have to conclude that the author would not think America is good, much less great.

This is all very discouraging, I know.  So do we just give up?  What do we do?  Can we make a difference? There is a quote from the most recent 'Hobbit' movie that is relevant to this discussion:

Tauriel: When did we allow evil to become stronger than us?

Legolas: It is not our fight...

Tauriel: It IS our fight!

Legolas did not want to get involved, but we must get involved.  It is our fight.  We must get involved in our immediate families and work outward.  We shouldn't go try to change the world if we aren't first making an impact in our own homes.  Our first ministry is within our own families.  One day we'll all have to give an account before our Creator.  It is my humble opinion that the "pulpits of our households" should first be aflame with righteousness.  We should read the Word and let it guide our lives and teach it to our children. Our Almighty God can change lives.  When He changes lives our families will be better.  When our families are better our churches will be better and likewise with our nation.  To be honest, I'm not really concerned with the question, Is America Great? I'm more concerned about hearing the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" from my Creator when I stand before Him.  Our Nation is not good and we are not good, apart from the changing work of our Awesome God!