The Making of a Great Nation
Proverbs 14:34-35
* I ran across this editorial written a few years ago by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. The following text was printed in our nation’s Congressional Record: “This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it. When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans. I’d like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don’t they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon not once, but several times and safely home again. You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here. When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don’t think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I’m one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those." Stand proud, America
* America is a great nation! We are great for many reasons. From God’s word, last week we consider the topic, “One Nation Under ________?” Looking at the culture how would God fill in that blank. Today, on this the 234th Birthday of our nation, let look into our Bibles and discover a little of the meaning found in the “Making of a Great nation.” Turn to our text.
* From these verses we can discern 4 needed truths for us to embrace.
The making of a great nation – Pg 2
1. The Desire from a Nation – Let us not speak about other nations as they have their own thoughts, but let’s consider the fundamental desire of the USA. Based on the facts of American history, our founding fathers desired;
a. To be Strong – Those 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence possessed a strong desire for the United States of America to become a strong nation (just like every other nation). Yet, these men possessed an understanding that it would be God’s 3 institutions which made the nation strong and safe. The family was and is God’s first institution. In the home we are to teach our children the truths of God. It is no problem to teach them about sport, entertainment, and success; but it develops into a huge problem when we teach our ONLY the things of this world. The home is where mom and dad teach the children how to love God, learn His word, and live like Jesus. Very few things have the potential to make any nation strong like a strong family unit. The Church and the Government round out God’s three basics institutions. The church exposes evil while the government restrains evil. The church focuses on the heart while the government focuses on behavior. The church & government are not to work counter to each other and not in unison, but in harmony. In music, harmony is everything. Whether tradition, contemporary, southern gospel, bluegrass, or classical, the right HARMONY brings about the desired response. For a nation to be strong, these have to their work.
b. To be Stable – Whether you read about it in the Bible, history books, or watch the news, there are very few things of mankind as sad as a country suffering from instability. When instability is the rule of the day, evil rules the day. Satan’s plan is to make us unstable as possible. In the scripture we see that Jesus wants to be our foundation so that we may exude strength and Satan is offers a piece of fruit that we would jump from the firm into the flimsy (the quicksand). The cause of instability is discovered in God’s word. Turn to 1 Corinthians 3:10ff. A firm foundation is required for stability and looking back at the foundation of this country we discover God’s word and our Lord Christ was uniquely and divinely laid as the foundation, the basis, and the rock upon which we were built.
c. To be Spiritual – If a country is to be great, there will be a sense of spiritual awareness and divine oversight. Think back over the history of this nation. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, when the Bible was used in the classroom the standard of ‘right & wrong’ and decency were understood, this country was the strongest and the most stable. When the people at large agreed on the basics of society, this country stood tall and strong. One of the unique reasons for the success of this nation is the deep commitment to the Bible and the God of the Bible. This was the desire of those statesmen who wrote our nation’s founding documents.
The making of a great nation – Pg 3
2. The Design of a Nation – To speak of the design of a nation, let us not think of whether it is a democracy or theocracy; rather, let’s consider the people.
a. To be Thankful – The question may come, “Why is it that a great nation is a thankful nation?” The two choices for any nation are these; it either is ‘thankful’ or ‘arrogant’. When a people become arrogant, they expect a specific lifestyle and proper recognition. Conversely, when people are thankful, they are appreciative of everything they get. Now, apply these truths to America. We still have those among us who remember the difficult days of the GREAT DEPRESSION and its aftermath and WWII along with its difficulties. There was thankfulness to the Lord for His strong hand getting us through those times. When the government stepped out to lend a hand, there was thanksgiving and appreciation. Compare that to the general attitude of the day (“What have you done for me lately”) and come face to face with a country that has seemingly become arrogant. God despises the arrogant (Proverbs 6:16-19) and stiff arms the proud. Never forget, a thankful nation begins with a thankful people. Are we thankful?
b. To be Truthful – Truth is at a premium today because mankind, with his fallen nature is basically deceptive and untruthful. It begins in the heart. The Bible teaches us that the ‘heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately sick.’ It is the deceptiveness of ‘untruth’ which weakens the foundation of a nation. Untruth to a nation is like too much water in concrete. A nation built on lies and deception is a nation doomed for destruction. God is truth, His word is truth, His desire is truth, and His design is truth. The Psalmist wrote, “Make your ways known to me and Guide me in your truth.” In this nation, we need to return to the truth. Proverbs 12 tells us that ‘truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue, only a moment.’
c. To be Thoughtful – As we read Gordon Sinclair’s words we discover that America has historically been a nation who was thoughtful of the rest of the world. That is, because of our thankfulness to God’s abundant blessings to us and for us, we felt it our divine responsibility to assist others.
* All of these thoughts are gleaned from our text, “Righteousness exalts a nation.” The very reason this country is strong can be traced to a country that is righteous or ‘right before God.’ However, as we see happening before our very eyes, there is a flip side to the righteousness seen next in the text.
3. The Disgrace to a Nation – Simply put, “Righteousness builds and sin kills.” The word ‘disgrace’ means to bring shame & loss of respect on self. A man lives a life of integrity and in a few minutes can bring shame upon himself by SIN.
a. The program of sin – Please don’t miss this; Satan’s program is to entice us to sin ‘just a little.’ Last Wednesday I was asked ‘how do churches become liberal in theology?’ My answer was, ‘they begin with a little decision that ‘seems logical’ but is contrary to God’s word. Satan’s attack is subtle.
The making of a great nation – Pg 4
* He doesn’t begin with the big things; he begins with something seemingly so insignificant that our yellow flag never waves. For King David it was, “let the soldiers go to war, you don’t have to go.” For the country it may be, “don’t be so harsh on crime.” For the church it may be, “be more tolerant of mistakes (sin).” For the Christian, it might be, “try it once, it won’t hurt.’ This is Satan’s program. In sales training it is taught to get the “small yes’ first. It’s a psychological ploy to get you in the mind set of saying “yes.”
b. The progression of sin – Sin never stops on its own and is never satisfied. Remember, sin will take you farther, keep you longer, and may be you more than you want to. Sin is like a cancer which, if left unchecked, will destroy all health. It runs through this country. Consider this thought; 75 years ago who would have thought that; Prayer would be removed from schools, that words like ‘Under God’ would be ruled unconstitutional, that abortion on demand would be the rule of the day, that homosexuality would be considered a civil rights issue, that people who actually believed the Bible would be considered intolerant and the calling sin by name would be taboo? Once sin gets a toehold the rest is history.
c. The production of sin – Sin produces death, devastation, destruction, and heartache. The compensation for sin is still death. We trace its impact to the Garden of Eden. When sin entered the Garden, God separated Himself and put a barrier there. The angel with the flaming sword was just as real as the barrier between heaven and hell. Sin brings shame and disgrace.
4. The Destination for a Nation – Question abound today about the future of this nation. I believe we can get a hint in our text. (READ verse 35) It’s true we do not have a King, but we do have a President who rules over the land. This places a new responsibility on the people of the land. The privilege afforded to the citizens of this country make “US” responsible for its destination.
a. The Choices of the People – Every time the voting booths open, it is the voice of the people. Because of our founding Father’s wisdom, we have the ability to shape the future of this nation. Never forget, what goes on in Washington and Montgomery is only a reflection, mirror image of what is going on in Birmingham and Hueytown. We make the choice.
b. The Character of the People – The “Center for Youth Ethics” uses the ‘Six Pillars of Character” to define it (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship) and each of these are found in the life of one who has been change by the power of God through Jesus. It is only in Jesus that people can discover, develop, and truly deploy these attributes.
c. The Commitment of the People – A great nation requires its people to be committed! The greater the nation the deeper the commitment to God & His word. It is in His word that we find people & collective life, reason for living, and direction. He is our hope for today & help for tomorrow.
