Is America worth saving?

by Tim Wildmon

AFA president

Is America worth trying to save? Save from what you might ask. Is America worth saving from self-destruction? Maybe that's a better question to ask.

The next question must be: How do we save America? Being active in the political arena, being a good citizen and being a productive member of society are important. But prayer is a key that we must not neglect. A group of Christian leaders have come together to offer 40 Days to Save America, a plan for believers to pray daily for our nation during the 40 days leading up to the November elections. (For more information visit 40daystosaveamerica.com.)

Civilizations have risen and fallen through the ages. Countries have been birthed and countries have died. I believe the United States of America was birthed by the God of the Bible primarily for the purpose of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ both here and around the world unlike any other country in history.

Even before we won our independence from England, the Christian faith had begun to spread like wildfire across the land. My dad, a United Methodist minister, used to tell me stories about the legendary circuit riders who later traveled on horseback to evangelize the new nation. These men would brave whatever was in front of them to carry the message of Jesus Christ throughout the New World. Other denominations trail blazed the gospel as well, and soon our country became recognized both here and abroad as a distinctively Christian nation. The evidence was so overwhelming that in 1892 the Supreme Court wrote in the Church of the Holy Trinity v The United States: "These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."

Our country has known freedom for the individual unlike any other country in history. Quite frankly, the idea was novel that people could govern themselves. In order for freedom to be sustained, the masses had to be willing to act morally and lawfully by their own volition or else society would crumble from within. The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount were how we judged good and evil, right and wrong. Some of that still remains, but respect for those teachings and reverence for the God who spoke them is deteriorating at a very rapid rate.

In modern day America, there is very little shame anymore. Most Americans have lost their fear of God. We are on the road to self-destruction.

Secularists mock the idea of God. Judges forbid even the acknowledgement of God in many public places. Many in the media elite make fun of Christians. The entertainment industry promotes sex without moral standards day after day, movie after movie, song after song - influencing our youth beyond measure. Try to raise any objection to this tide of immorality and you are quickly shouted down, ridiculed, and called a prude, a hater, a religious nut, a censor or a fundamentalist.

What we are experiencing today in America is unbridled selfishness and licentiousness, and the results are manifesting themselves in many terrible ways that will only get worse if things don't change.

For the Christian in America today, there is only so much we can do. Only 43% of our fellow countrymen go to church today. We are now outnumbered. But that which we can do, we must do. We can pray to God that He send revival to America. We can continue to build strong Christian families. We can put our denominational barriers aside when there are issues that affect the moral health of our nation. We can continue to hold high the standard of righteousness, even if we are rejected by the world around us, and we can vote for candidates who best reflect our values. There are no perfect candidates, but we are a nation of laws so we must elect the best available lawmakers to govern us and then pray for them and hold them accountable.

So to answer my own question, yes, America is worth trying to save. For our children, grandchildren and generations to come. There is nowhere else to start over. There is no other New World to which we can sail.