Will God Judge America Over Immorality?
Answer: That, according to the Bible, depends on whether we judge one another.
In Matthew, Chapter 7, Jesus began: Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged.... Whether God judges America over immorality depends on whether it follows the example set by Jesus Christ. Jesus, for example, chose not to judge a woman caught in adultery and refused to consider lepers to be sinners cursed by God. If, on the other hand, America patterns its laws and policies after the letter of the Law of Moses, judgment will come.
Most Americans, like people all over the world, truly sense the will of God in their hearts. As a nation, we have made steady progress toward ridding our society of discrimination based on race and gender, unfair business practices, religious oppression, and many other social ills that have plagued our national conscience. We have moved to provide for the poor, protect our children, take care of the sick and elderly, and help our neighbors in other lands. This is a far cry from where we began, when our forefathers owned slaves, children were forced into labor, women had virtually no legal rights, and cruelty and injustice were institutionalized in almost every facet of life.
America's greatness is
the product of a steady flow of blood, sweat and tears from courageous
men and women who have led the nation to manifest the basic rights
and freedoms spoken of in our Constitution. This is no different
at all than what Moses envisioned for his people, namely that they
would learn to choose mercy, forgiveness, and compassion over the
religious oppression and injustice.
Many injustices are rooted in religious laws and ordinances, such as those that Moses gave Israel. It is not surprising, therefore, that synagogues, churches, and other religious institutions can be the most formidable obstacles to social progress and, indeed, the will of God. Eleven years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, the second largest Southern Baptist Church in the state of Alabama was still voting on whether to allow African-Americans to join the church.1
Largely due to a healthy separation between church and state, America has historically moved to free its people from laws founded in religious oppression. This is not true of other nations where people are still overtly oppressed by religious leaders. In such places, cruelty and injustice are the bitter fruit of the union between religious and political power. A growing number of elected officials in the United States, however, appear to be aligning themselves with religious institutions that are pressuring Congress and the Executive Branch. They are steadily expanding the power and influence of judgmental religion with the courts. As a nation, we must heed what Paul told the Romans and not follow Israel's example in which religious leaders in his day used the Law of Moses to extinguish compassion throughout that nation and prevent people from treating one another as they would want to be treated themselves.2
References
1 Author's personal experience.
2 Rom 11:13-32 |
