Righteousness Exalts a Nation

Righteousness Exalts a Nation

If you watch or read the news on a regular basis, you will see a world in turmoil. Political rhetoric is sharp and nasty. Depending on who you listen to, democracy and freedom are threatened from both the right and the left. On the international scene, wars and threats of violence abound.

Closer to home, the moral fabric of our society is crumbling. Crime permeates our communities. Marriages are failing, leaving children to grow up in broken homes. Sexual sins have become normalized. Cohabitation is common before marriage, with some questioning the need for marriage at all. Homosexuality, transgenderism, and other sexual perversions are accepted as normal by an increasing percentage of the population. People are confused and without a clear moral compass. It can become overwhelming when we see how far Satan has moved our society. Sometimes we wonder, what can we do about it?

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. – Proverbs 14:34

Despite the conventional wisdom of our time, it is righteousness – not tolerance, diversity, prosperity, or freedom – that exalts a nation. All the problems we see in the world are the result of sin. We already have the solution: the redeeming and life-transforming power of the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). The more the people of a nation put their faith in Christ and allow Him to transform their lives, the more their social and national ills will be remedied.

But, the question remains: how can we help our nation? The answer is fairly simple. Live the life God has called us to. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12).

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14,16). When Christians live lives of holy devotion to God, avoiding worldly sins, and doing good works, others will see and take note. The darker the world around us becomes, the more the light will stand out and lead others to God.

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Put God first. Maintain a healthy marriage. Raise godly children. Work hard. Avoid worldly lusts. Pray. Do good and be a blessing to your neighbors, co-workers, and employers. Share the gospel. Do your part to bring the righteousness that is in Christ Jesus to your neighborhood, your state, and your nation.

-  Pat Gaughan

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American Statesmen and the Bible

George Washington: “It is impossible to govern the world without the Bible.”

Thomas Jefferson: “The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty.”

John Quincy Adams: “The Bible is the book of all others to be read at all ages, and in all conditions of human life.”

Andrew Jackson: “The Bible - the rock upon which our Republic rests.”

Abraham Lincoln: “The Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.”

Benjamin Harrison: “If you blot out . . . all that is taken from the Sacred Book, what would there be left to bind society together?”

Calvin Coolidge: “There is no other book with which the Bible can be compared.  It is the support of the strong and the consolation of the weak; the dependence of organized government.”

Herbert Hoover: “There is no other book so varied as the Bible.  As a nation we are indebted to the Book of books for our national ideals and representative institutions.”

Franklin Roosevelt: “Nearly all of the great men of our country have been well versed in teachings of the Bible, and I sincerely hope that the habit of Bible study will be developed among the people.”

Ronald Reagan “Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.”

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A teacher asked her first graders to give a definition of love.  One little boy thought for a moment and then said, “Whenever there’s only one piece of pie left, Mama’s never hungry.”

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