Posts
I want to take a break from the series we are in to examine a bumper sticker that I saw on a car this week.
God Bless the Whole World
No Exceptions
What a beautiful sentiment. But is it really what we want to communicate? I understand the logic but I believe that it is wrong on three levels.
First it is wrong grammatically. When we sing “God bless America” we are not making a command but a request. That wonderful song is a prayer for God’s blessing, which He gives to whomever He chooses. This bumper sticker is almost arrogant in its tone as though we are telling God what to do and how to do it. It should have the word “Please” at the end of the first line, to show that it is not a demand or a command but a humble request. Does that really matter? Yes it does because it has theological and political implications.
Secondly, the bumper sticker is wrong politically. I understand that there are all sorts of political views out there and it is often unacceptable to say that one or the other is “wrong.” However, I believe that this is, at the very least, wrongheaded. It stems from the idea that we cannot just ask God to bless America without also asking Him to bless the whole world. That is utter foolishness. Would we accept that logic if we were living in the time when Hitler was practicing genocide upon six million Jews, or when Stalin was murdering hundreds of thousands of his own people? God bless Hitler. God bless Stalin? See how foolish that is! The belief behind this is that there is a moral equivalence between all nations and all cultures. That sounds nice on paper but it is just not the case. Some forms of government (totalitarian, Nazi, dictatorship, communist) and some cultures (Muslim oppression of women for example) are wrong and in some cases evil. Is it wrong for us as Americans to recognize what we have and to be proud of it? No, because our country and way of life is a gift from God. We should not be ashamed of or apologize for who we are. Are we perfect? Not by a long shot. But I still do not see people flocking to get into Red China or Saudi Arabia. Why do people from all over the world want to come here? I contend it is because God HAS blessed America. I still continue to unashamedly ask for and pray for His blessing.
Finally the bumper sticker is wrong theologically. This bumper sticker makes it sound like we are in control, not God. It sounds like He is little more than a heavenly lap dog waiting for us to tell Him what to do. No! “God bless America” (or anything else for that matter) is the request a servant makes of a master. He is the Lord and we are not. Are we really asking God to bless child molesters, suicide bombers, serial killers, spousal abusers, abortion doctors, and tyrants? No exceptions? While there is no doubt that God loves the world and even loves these evil people, there is also no doubt that God is clear about his blessings. He offers the ultimate blessing of eternal life to whoever will know Him through faith, no matter how bad their past has been, but He will also cast those who reject Him from eternal presence. To ask God, or to demand that God, bless evil doers is to be a Universalist (believing we all will end up in heaven). If that is true then Jesus did not have to come and die because we are all going to heaven anyway. The fact is that Jesus came to do more than just give us a home in heaven. He came to give us abundant life in His Kingdom here on earth. Therefore when God withholds His blessing from someone it is not out of hatred or malice. It is because He desires that person (or nation) to come to Him and find the life that they never could otherwise (in heaven and on earth).
Therefore I proudly and loudly sing “God bless America.” Let us work and pray so that we are not one of those on the outside looking in at the blessings of God. May God bless you and your family this Christmas season and may God bless America.
