No Political Messiah
By Kendall Hewitt

The question is: “In God We Trust” or Don’t We?

Benjamin Franklin

I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise and fall without His aid?
Source: James Madison, The Papers of James Madison, Henry D.Gilpin, editor ( Washington: Langtree and O'Sullivan, 1840 ), Vol.II, pp984-986, June 28, 1787

George Washington

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the states over which you preside, in His holy protection…that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example, we can never hope to be a happy nation.
Source: George Washington, The Last Official Address of His Excellency George Washington to the Legislature of the United States ( Hartford:Hudson and Goodwin, 1783 ), p.12.

Is the phrase, In God We Trust, simply a patriotic phrase or a reality that will determine our destiny as a nation? Is man God, or is man accountable to God? Or, is God aloof and we have to figure it out on our own?

Too many Americans are unfamiliar with the deeply spiritual and historical roots of this phrase. It has true meaning and through the hearts and minds of men that believed, laid the cornerstone of our nation.

We either trust Him while we do our duty, asking for His guidance, or we come to believe that this simple phrase, “In God We Trust” is simply a patriotic phrase for the intellectually impaired. Therefore it would really be up to our elected officials, our collective intellect, and our military might, to save us from destruction. Trusting in God would simply be foolishness.

The truth is that our forefathers knew well that God was either going to save them from the abuses perpetrated by the King of England, or He would not. They chose to do the right thing, drew a line in the sand against the greatest empire on earth, and asked God to choose between them. Samuel Adams, the Father of the American Revolution, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, writing to British officials among a decade of letters pleading their cause said;

“You know that the cause of America is just. You know that she contends for that freedom to which all men are entitled – that she contends against oppression…and savage barbarity. The blood of the innocent is upon your hands and all the waters of the ocean will not wash it away. We again make our solemn appeal to the God of Heaven to decide between you and us. And we pray that in the doubtful scale of battle, we may be successful as we have justice on our side, and that the merciful Savior of the world may forgive our oppressors.”

King George didn’t like what he heard and the rest is history.

The point is, our forefathers, the majority being orthodox Christians according to historical fact, sincerely “trusted” in the God of Heaven, the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible. They believed far beyond political rhetoric for persuasive speech making, and they signed their lives on the dotted line to prove it.

Why would the most powerful educated men in the community, who have more to lose than anyone else, take a stand against the greatest empire on earth against all odds? They referred to God four times in the Declaration of Independence, and clearly stated that they were standing on the rock of justice with confident humility, and allowing God to decide the fate of each nation. They then pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, signed on the dotted line and headed to the printer.

In God We Trust is no Patriotic phrase and for those who have attempted to reduce trust in God to a phrase, need to wake up and understand the historical and present reality.

Many people have asked if God is going to destroy America. Only God can answer that question. The question we need to answer is, are “we” going to destroy America by replacing heartfelt and sincere trust in God, with trust in our own intellect strength alone? It is one thing to trust God and do the right thing against all odds, and quite another to clearly do the wrong, politically correct thing, and give God some political lip service, and then take it entirely into our own hands.

So, we either trust God as a collective group of individuals, or we do not. It is that simple. If we do truly trust in the God that created us and holds our next breath in his hands, we will live accordingly as individuals. This belief permeates our personal lives, ripples through our families, out into the communities, institutions, and nations. The opposite is also true. Our thoughts translate into beliefs and we act on those beliefs and they do have consequences.

So should the “right thing” be forced by law? This nation cannot stand if the majority of the people are forced by law to do the right thing. The Founders understood well the meaning of self-government. One founding father said that we will either be governed by God [ by individual conscience] or by tyrants. The free choice of the individual must be the right one, and there is a right one over a wrong one, or we will self destruct. Freedom is not the right to do as we please, it is the opportunity to live by free conscience before God, or answer to the government on every issue of conscience.

The bottom line is that there is no political solution as men look to other men to solve the overwhelming issues of our day. We either trust in God, or we do not. If we do not choose to trust in God as individual citizens, and allow our consciences to be guided by Him and His written word, then we will self destruct as a nation.

Our first Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Jay, said,

" No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion applied and accepted by all the classes. Should our Republic ere forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness, and this great experiment will then surely be doomed."

In the First World War, former President Teddy Roosevelt inscribed, in the New Testaments given to each soldier preparing to set sail, the following message:

"Remember, no machinery of government will keep us as a nation from destruction if there is not within us a soul. No abounding material prosperity shall avail us if our spiritual senses atrophy." He also went on to say, "Love mercy; treat your enemies well; succor the afflicted; treat every woman as if she were your sister; care for the little children; and be tender with the old and helpless. Walk humbly; you will do so if you study the life and teachings of the Savior, walking in His steps."

These are truths that challenge our character as a people. This is the great hope to claim our purpose. Embracing this call makes us a "shining city on a hill." And our embracing this call will determine our destiny.

There is a saying, “ now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Politics, but the greatest of these is politics.” This for many is a joke, but for far too many others, a living reality. If this false belief rules in the majority, our fate is sealed because the only thing left holding up this great nation will be the strength of men. Do you really trust in men? We wouldn’t need a system of checks and balances if we did. Think about it. All I could do at that point is wish everyone luck. Because there is no political solution, or a political messiah.

In the end we will all make a choice. T.S. Eliot said, “If you will not have God, then pay your respects to Hitler and Stalin.”

We will either trust in the God that made us a great nation, ask for His guidance and accept his will, or we will merely give lip service to God and face the consequences.

The choice is ours.

Founder and President
American Destiny, Inc.