Traditionally, America has been a God-fearing nation. Evidence of that can be found in our mottos, in many of our songs, in many of our national documents, and carved into many monuments and buildings. It has traditionally distinguished us from many other nations of the world, and it is one of the reasons we are always first in line when it comes to humanitarian aid for others. It is also why we have not used our great might to conquer other nations of the world. We pay attention to the issues of morality and ethics because our nation was founded on principles revealed to us in the Bible by a righteous and just God.
Have you ever stopped to think about what money represents? It represents wealth and power. As we have recently seen, when you lack money and incur great debt, your influence and power decrease. Considering what your money says about you, it is really quite amazing that our nation has chosen to inscribe the phrase “In God We Trust” on all of our money. By doing so, we proclaim to the world that godly principles are essential to our way of life, that we trust not in our money, not in the power that comes from having money – but in our God. Having declared that for the world to see, it is essential that we allow our lives to speak as loudly as our money.
We have been favored by God because we have acknowledged him, but as the forces of political correctness attempt to push God out of our lives, we must have courage to resist them. That does not mean we should retaliate or manifest the same intolerance they have shown. It does mean, however, that we must stand up and be counted. If they do not wish to accept the godly principles that we choose to live by, we should make no attempt to force them, but by no stretch of the imagination should we allow them to force their beliefs on us. For the God in whom we place our trust has entrusted each one of us the freedom to choose our beliefs – as well as the mind to speak up for what we believe to be right.
Dr. Carson joins James and Betty throughout this week on LIFE Today. Excerpted from America The Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great by Ben Carson, M.D. Copyright ©2012 by Benjamin Carson and Candy Carson. Published by Zondervan. Used by permission.
