Have Americans Outgrown God?
Prosperity Comes With A Warning Label
American prosperity is rooted in our biblical foundation. The historical narrative is that of Christian people desiring to live free and worship their creator, the God of the Bible. The seeds of faith were sown in a society trusting in God for an abundant harvest and while we have occasionally erred in some ways throughout our journey we have always remained one nation under God. Roughly 70.6% of Americans identify as Christians.
The Bible warns us to not forget God and the fact that He is the source of our prosperity. It is so easy to think that we have built American prosperity while failing to understand that it is God who gives each of us special talents and abilities to produce wealth and prosperity. It is God who graciously gives us the power, strength, and creativity to succeed, and it is God who will remove His blessing if we become proud-hearted rebels and forget to honor God. Sadly, this attitude is pervasively spreading throughout society.
Can We Learn From Israel’s Failure?
The 8th. chapter of Deuteronomy records the warning Moses gave to the Israelites that they should be careful not to forget the Lord once they become successful, wealthy, and prosperous. There is much to learn from these timeless principles that are unalterable truths for us today.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws, and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. 19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 8:10-20)
Many in America have mistakenly and pridefully attributed their prosperity to their own innate talents and abilities alone while rejecting God as our divine source of those gifts. We have thanklessly eaten the fruit of prosperity as though God had nothing to do with it. We have rejected his teachings and truth for our misguided desires. We are guilty of rejecting God’s design for marriage and sexuality to legalize perversion. We are emotionally damaging our children by teaching them to deny their God-given gender. We are aborting unwanted babies to make our lives more convenient and comfortable. We are fomenting class and race hatred against those whose skin color is different and those who may have more prosperity than their neighbor. We think we have outgrown God and reject his laws and principles. We flaunt lasciviousness and ridicule righteous behavior. We have forsaken the worship and honor that is rightfully God’s alone. We have engaged in corruption and sinful behavior with blatant disregard for the consequences. We have forgotten that God will bring down a nation and its people that disregard His word and fail to obey the Biblical truth upon which America was founded.
Americans need to repent and turn to the Lord for forgiveness. Do not be deceived my friends, our society and culture are headed down the path of destruction. Without nationwide repentance, America will lose the blessing of God and many of your children and grandchildren will bear the consequences of a godless America. Such a revival must begin with you who are reading this. I urge each of you to turn your hearts to Jesus Christ the savior of the world.
Dear friend, isn’t it time to turn to Jesus?
How to Turn to God
Perhaps at this very moment, you have realized that you need the Lord in your life. Maybe you drifted away or need to be been born again? If so, you can stop right now and begin talking to God. Ask Him to forgive you for being a sinner and the life you have been living outside of His love. Surrender your life to Him, unconditionally. Call Him Lord and make Him Lord of every thought, attitude, and action. You can say, Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins and come into my heart and take full control of my life. I am your child from this day forward. Change my heart and mind to be Christ-like in every way. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior forever.
