11/04/2025
Over the past couple of months (since the assassination of Charlie Kirk), I have found myself thinking about stewardship. Not the stewardship of money, talents, or time; but the stewardship of a trust given to us by God in the form of liberty and freedom. Proverbs 11:1-3 says, "In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
As Americans, we have been given a precious gift by God. And, as Christians, we need to remember that these gifts have, in fact, come from God. The Declaration of Independence is built upon this solid truth, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". If, in fact, this trust is given by God to this nation, and it is, then don't we, as Christians, have a responsibility to steward this trust?
I've struggled over the years myself with where the balance is in this. I know that our primary purpose on the earth is to proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ: "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen" (Matthew 28:18-20). But I also know that "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). This nation was built upon the righteous standards of the Word of God, beginning with the Pilgrims (1620) and the Puritans (1630). Both of these groups covenanted with God to establish a community that would honor Him and one another. It's also historically accurate to state that our Founding Fathers, even though some of them were not Christians, reverenced the Bible, quoted from it often, and used it as a guiding principle in the formation of our nation.
In light of the centrality of the God of the Bible and the Bible of our God in the building of both the foundation and structure of our country, I believe we have been given a sacred trust. The Bible also says in Psalm 127:1, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." I believe our nation survived the War for Independence because of the covenant those first settlers made with God. I also believe that the form of government we enjoy, a constitutional Republic, was brought about because of this nation's reliance upon God. Did we make mistakes? Of course! The way the Native Americans were (and, many times, still are) treated was appalling. The stain of slavery upon our country, a stain that is still being rubbed away today, was atrocious. But we have paid the price for those days. America fought the Civil War, in part, because of that sin. America is certainly a different nation today than it was then. But...
Today we see different sins and injustices. Our nation has slid into even worse wickedness and depravity. We are now replacing liberty with license; freedom with a free-for-all. God's Word no longer has an influence in our country, as a matter of fact, its' truth is now " fallen in the street" and "righteousness stands afar off" (Isaiah 59:14). God and His Word are not just ignored, they are openly ridiculed and mocked. What are the righteous to do? How can Christians stand against this flood of lawlessness? Isaiah tells us just a few verses later (verse 19) that "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him". Christian friend, we must go back to being stewards of this trust. We must manage what God has given us by, first, being people of prayer and then standing up for the truth of the Bible. We must speak the truth of Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and risen again! We must proclaim that He is coming back for a day of judgment upon all unrighteousness and that there is a way of escape! But we must also hold firm to the truth that God has given us a standard by which to live-that God created us male and female (Genesis 1:27) and that any other form of lifestyle is an assault on His holiness; we must proclaim that God has created only one race, the human race (Acts 17:26) and that all attempts to divide us by skin color (Critical Race Theory) are a direct violation of scripture, we must not bow the knee to political polarization, for we do not serve Caesar, we serve Christ! Jesus alone is Lord!
And, friends, I believe that if we will humble ourselves, pray, and seek God's face FIRST, if we, the Church, get right with God and turn from OUR wicked ways, we may yet see Him forgive our sins (national) and heal our land! It will not be through political activism, nor by legislative arm-twisting; it will only come as God's people get serious about being good stewards of the incredible trust that God has given to us. A trust for which many have suffered, and some have even died!
