I do not think it too far a stretch to liken this past campaign year to a difficult pregnancy. As the end nears one is weary with the burden, and longs for the birth whatever attends it so long as it is over.
On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, America’s due date arrived and our nation went into electoral labor. I went to sleep that night not knowing if it would be a boy or a girl. During the night and before I awoke, our democratic process gave birth to a new President, and it’s a boy.
Donald Trump promised to make “America great again” and Hillary Clinton declared “America is great, because America is good.” Hillary’s words are a quote from a bit of prosaic verse titled “America’s Greatness” often attributed to the late French statesman and political observer Alexis de Tocqueville.
Tocqueville’s authorship has been called into question, but there are two points I think are important; somebody wrote it and it is a well-worded observation. Here is the quote in its entirety.
“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there.
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and her boundless forests, and it was not there.
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there.
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institutions of higher learning, and it was not there.
I sought for the greatness and genius of America 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 America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
The writer is correct when he surmised America’s goodness and subsequent greatness are directly attributable to the righteous influence of her churches. I do not think America is as great as it has been because America is not as good as it has been, and I do not think Donald Trump can make America great again, at least not alone.
If America ever hopes to be great again its churches must resurrect godly goodness through the righteous example of their words and deeds. The petty bickering, name-calling, and bitter rhetoric that has attended this political season among those who Christ commanded to “love one another” must cease.
If we have wronged another we must repent. If we have been wronged we must forgive. We must look to our Father for healing in the church, so we can help heal our land.
“I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men…who are in authority,” 1 Timothy 2:1-2.
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