God’s Values Fight for Life
in a Christian Nation
Power of Grace at Low Ebb
Part Four in Dr. Walker’s Insightful Series:
Recapturing the Power of Grace
By Dr. Clyde Walker
Dr. Clyde Walker holds his doctorate in Psychology and Counseling.
A graduate of Florida State University, he has served several mental health
facilities as Executive Director, including the Church Street Counseling Center,
Orlando, Florida. In addition, he is an ordained Southern Baptist minister and
a former U.S. Air Force helicopter pilot. He is now in private clinical
practice.
Do we Americans pride ourselves on being a Christian nation. Yes, the U.S.
Constitution prohibits a state religion so we are officially a secular society.
But the influence of Christian values throughout our history is undeniable.
President Eisenhower even signed a law to include "under God" in our Pledge of
Allegiance, distinguishing the United States from the communist Soviet Union,
which seemed to encourage atheism.
The question faced today in our “Christian nation,” is why haven’t we seen more of an influence from God’s values and the power of grace—supposedly the defining center of a Christian belief system? The answer may be
that in the United States Christian belief exists side-by-side with another
system we sometimes call “The Law of the Marketplace,” or “free enterprise,” or simply capitalism.
Fitting the two systems together requires some modification, since God’s grace says we are freed from our personal quest for righteousness so that we
might bring good to our brothers and sisters. Conversely, free enterprise says
that a focus on our personal achievement and self interest is primary. One
system emphasizes relationship while the other puts the self at the center.
Free enterprise has served us well when it has adjusted toward Christian
values, but moving in the opposite direction leads to an empty religion.
Unfortunately, the tension between God’s values and the primacy of the self seems to be tilting for now toward the
self. For some who hold dual citizenship in God’s Kingdom and the kingdom of accumulation, corruption of our faith into a
theology of prosperity has become the cost-free way of resolving the conflict.
On the other hand, many individuals are wondering if the guidelines of greed
are beginning to rival the principles of living as given by Jesus. It’s a legitimate question to ask: When we say “One Nation Under God,” about what God are we talking?
Since as a Christian nation we believe that Jesus was sent as a representative
from God, what He had to say about God should help us define the God under
which a Christian lives. In John 10:30, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one."
And in John 14:9, He states that anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father.
So, Jesus gave us the model of God.
Jesus gave the disciples (and us) frequent short courses on how to live in a
healthy way, teaching us many principles upon which to live our lives. One of
the prime scriptures in which Jesus delineates how to live life as a Christian
is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, or the Beatitudes. The word,
Beatitude is usually interpreted as blessing.
In the table below, the Sermon on the Mount will be discussed in non-traditional
terms, but it is assumed that the meaning of the verses will not vary from the
Bible's intent. In Column A, you will read the edited statements of Jesus about
how Christians are expected to live. In Column B, you will read what might be
extolled by those who are more driven by greed than Christian principles.
Are we One Nation Under God, a democracy which is guided by Christian
principles? Or are we beginning to be more like a kleptocracy, guided by
principles of greed? What has your experience been?
As Christianity is seen in the public square, the compromised, selfish vision of
Christian principles seems to be winning out against the just and compassionate
image Jesus embodied. The power of grace in our culture flickers like a small
fire threatening to go out. What can you throw on the fire? Jesus was willing
to throw everything—even his own body.
