America, Bless God

Published in The Daily Sentinel, Friday, June 29, 2007

When Irving Berlin wrote his first version of “God Bless America” in 1918, I imagine he never expected that song to be even more popular today almost a century later. Through the years, “God Bless America” has become the unofficial national anthem. It was the most popular song at memorial services following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the New York Yankees play it during the “seventh-inning stretch” of every home game.

We sing “God Bless America,” but how often we do think about America blessing God? Can we bless God? Absolutely! Every time we do a kind deed for another person without thought of reward, we are blessing God. Every time a child is hugged and told that he or she is loved, we bless God. Whenever we put the interests of others ahead of our own, we bless God.

So what is a blessing? It’s an action or experience that points towards divine approval. Jesus taught “ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” (Matt 7:12, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language). I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrased this verse. We are to grab the initiative in doing good for others, not wait for others to do good for us. We bring our actions into divine approval and, in a sense, make God more visible to others.

More often than not, even as Christians, we tend to act out of self-interest rather than other-oriented-ness. We put a “numero uno” sign above our heads and act as if others are unimportant – or worse – downright inconveniences that get in our way. That kind of behavior certainly doesn’t point others towards God.

Is it any wonder that we live in a society that doubts God’s existence? Check the recent New York Times’ bestseller list. God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens is in the top ten. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins is #52 at Amazon.com even after being out for more than 18 months. Not a book reader? Then how about the recent Discovery Channel special on the “Lost Tomb of Jesus” that claimed DNA evidence proved archaeologists had found Jesus’ real grave (and that of his wife and child). Never mind that other scientists scoffed at this James Cameron-produced “documentary” and that it was more about creating controversy and generating big bucks than practicing real science.

We live in an age of skepticism of all things religious because we are not a people who bless God. You and I have rendered God invisible by looking out for our own interests instead of the interests of others. When we practice a “what’s in it for me?” mentality, there’s nothing left for anybody else.

So as you prepare for next week’s July Fourth parade, barbeque, and fireworks celebration, I invite you to do one additional thing: grab the initiative in doing something good for others as you would have them do for you.

America, isn’t it time to bless God?