God Make America into a Place You Desire to Bless

I see it all the time on social media, "God Bless America." It's a song. It's a prayer. It's a slogan. Instead of scrolling past the sentiment, I paused and considered it more fully. I had the distinct thought pop into my head as it blatantly challenged the status quo, "Why *should* God bless America? We aren't doing what He commands."

I look at our culture and ask myself why should God bless America?
Why should God bless a country where abortion has been legal for 44 years?
Why should God bless a country that idolizes the rich, the famous, and the sexy?
Why should God bless a country that over-consumes the world's resources and underpays its workers?
Why should God bless a country that preaches to "follow your heart" and "be true to yourself"?

I think about these actions that are in direct opposition to God and His commands. Perhaps like Jonah, I want to write off this country as undeserving of God's blessing. And you know what? I am right. America does not deserve God's blessing because no one does. I do not deserve God's blessing and neither do you. A blessing by its definition is a favor or gift of God, which therefore cannot be earned or bought.

So America does not deserve to have God bless it, but as the Weeping Prophet reminds me (Jeremiah 29), we are to seek the welfare of cities we have been placed in exile. Pray for the welfare of the cities & countries we are placed. May we pray, as citizens of America and citizens of the world to become a place that God desires to bless, a place that walks in obedience to His commands and seeks His kingdom before its own.

Let's zoom into a passage of the Bible that most of us have heard a thousand times: Matthew 5:3-12. This passage is commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. Let us see how America is doing with the Beatitudes and pray that God will make America into a place He desires to bless.

Verse 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Is America poor in spirit? We are rich in wealth and consumerism, pride and rationalization, but we are lonely, lost, and isolated. I guess we are poor in spirit after all. Bless us, Lord, for we are poor in spirit.

Lord, we are poor in spirit. We are a culture of instant gratification and technological marvels, but all the things in the world cannot fulfill or stifle our need for you. We may have things, but we are lonely, anxious, and depressed. We have money in our bank accounts, but we are poor in spirit. Cultivate in us a desire to seek Your kingdom first. Bless us, Lord, for we are poor in spirit.

Verse 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Is America mourning? We mourn for the ever-elusive "good, old days" when things seemed simpler and slower. We mourn for those we have lost to sickness, to murder, to the gods of our culture: Money and Consumerism. I guess we do have reason to mourn. Bless us, Lord, for we are mourning.

Lord, we are mourning. We have lost favor, as Christians, in the eyes of our culture and we mourn. We see a rapidly changing world that spurns the things You have taught us to value and we mourn. We have suffered loss and face new diseases and threats we never imagined would exist one day and we mourn. We are in need of Your comfort today. Bless us, Lord, for we are mourning.

Verse 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Is American meek? We are bold, brazen, prideful, arrogant, and proud. We trample the meek in our quest for more things, either by depriving them of adequate resources to survive & thrive or by paying them poorly in the quest for bargains. We have valued ourselves more than others as we have labeled meekness as a trait of the weak. Bless the meek, Lord, for we have dealt poorly with them.

Forgive us, Lord, for we should be meek.

Verse 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Does America hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do we eagerly seek to live rightly with You, with our fellow countryman, and with our global neighbor? Or do we thirst after the gods of this world: Fame, Fortune, Power, and Greed? We have reassured ourselves that our motives are pure and the end will justify the means, but we have forgotten that You have called us to be holy. Bless those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Lord, who desire You more than anything else in the world.

Forgive us, Lord, for we do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. Awaken in us, Lord, the hunger and thirst for righteous living.

Verse 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Is America merciful? We have taken revenge and dressed it up as a poor farce of justice. We cry out for blood and retribution after bombings, shootings, acts of terrorism, threats, and even perceived slights. We preemptively strike our enemies before they attack us. We take a life for a life instead of turning the other cheek. We hit back twice as hard when we get struck. Bless those who show mercy, Lord, even when they are hurting from wrongs inflicted on them.

Forgive us, Lord, for we are not merciful. You have shown us mercy, but we are like the unmerciful servant in Jesus' parable. You show us mercy (that we do not deserve) and yet we exact the full payment we are due from others. Teach us to be merciful. Please.

Verse 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Does America have a pure heart? Do we avoid the sinfulness saturating our culture? Do we give up our right to watch & read what is popular, because it does not bring You glory? There is a lot of mud and slime coating the entertainment of this world. We compromise and slowly slip down a slope where we impress worldly things on our hearts. Bless those who have pure hearts, Lord, and purify our tainted hearts.

Forgive us, Lord, for we have sullied the hearts You placed in us. We have dabbled in things that create callouses and hardened hearts in us. The mud of the world clogs us ears so we do not hear Your Spirit's guidance. Create in us a pure heart, Lord, for ours have been tainted by the world and its entertainment.

Verse 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Is America a peacemaker? A peacemaker makes peace wherever they go. A peacekeeper enforces peace through the threat of violence. A soldier or military force can maintain or restore peace by the presences of weapons, but a peacemaker tries to make peace through reconciliation of quarreling groups. We have assumed that these are the same thing because they both start with peace, but You have called us to be peacemakers. Bless those who are peacekeepers, Lord, and give us courage to follow Your path to peace.

Forgive us, Lord, for striving to be peacekeepers. Grant us the courage to be peacemakers in our homes, communities, countries, and world. Help us to let go of our weapons we use to have control in a frightening world.

Verse 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Is America persecuted because of righteousness? We are challenged because we have been enforcing global peace at the end of a gun. We are challenged because we care more about good deals and low prices than human lives. We actually have become a place that persecutes the righteous as intolerant, bigoted, hate-filled, hypocritical, self-righteous, pompous fools. Bless those who face persecution, Lord, and give us the courage to stay true to You no matter the cost.

Forgive us, Lord, for crucifying those who attempt to follow Your commands. Grant us courage to obey You no matter the earthly cost. May we seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness before all other things.

Verse 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Verse 12 Rejoice and be glad,because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Is America insulted, persecuted, and falsely & evilly slandered because of Jesus? Can you imagine the complaints? "How dare you feed our people suffering from famine!?!" "How dare you spend your defense budget on a global clean water initiative!?!" "How dare you refuse to bow to my gods!?!" "How dare you say I am a sinner, a bad person!?!" "How. Dare. You." What started off as humorous complaints, quickly grew more serious. The world will insult those who follow Jesus. The world will persecute those who follow Jesus. The world will slander, libel, and smear those who follow Jesus. Our motives will be questioned. Our routines will be turned upside down. Our very lives may be forfeit. Bless those who pay the cost of following Jesus, Lord, and may we be meek peacemakers in the face of persecution.

Sometimes, Lord, we have gone from the persecuted to the persecutor. We jump on the bandwagon of roasting leaders and the famous for failing to do things we are not doing either. Forgive us for trading insult for insult, persecution for persecution, and spoken evil for spoken evil. May we rejoice in persecution because it increases our heavenly reward, even as it burns off the impurities in our earthly lives.

This post turned out much differently than I expected. I was knocked off my high horse of scornful judgment rather forcefully. I looked in the mirror and saw Jonah staring back at me. I saw Jeremiah shake his head as I was too busy judging and condemning to apply his message. I call myself a foreigner, exile, and ambassador of Christ, but I forgot how exiles are supposed to live in the place God has placed them.

Forgive me, Lord, for I have too swiftly acted as judge and jury. I have written off an entire country as undeserving of Your blessing. I have desired Your judgment and wrath to be poured out in condemnation of a nation. I did not take the time or make an effort to reach out to these people I wrote off long ago. You long for them repent and draw near to You, but I long for their judgment, knowing full-well what the outcome should be. Thank You for Your grace, Your gift I could never earn or buy. Thank You for Your mercy, even though I fully have earned the punishment Jesus took on Himself. Forgive me, Father, for I had forgotten to be merciful. May You make America into a place You desire to bless and may You use me to be a blessing in this place. Amen.

Maybe I cannot fully pray "God bless America," but I can pray "God, make America into a place You desire to bless" and that, at least, is a step in the right direction.