This year, instead of attending local celebrations, Norma Jean and I watched our nation’s 250th birthday festivities from the comfort of our family room.
The televised events from Williamsburg, VA, Philadelphia, and, of course, Washington, D.C., were entertaining and enjoyable.
The speeches, musical tributes, on-the-street interviews, and fireworks displays promoted a feeling of patriotism and renewed appreciation and gratitude for our American birthright.
Yet amid all the celebration, I couldn’t help but think about our nation’s spiritual and moral direction, especially in light of the virtues and values upon which America was founded.
Over the past few days, I’ve read several articles raising this pressing concern.
Cal Thomas’s post, Will We Make It to 300 Years?, observed that we, as a nation, have wandered from our “founding principles” and the “pillars” that have sustained us for 250 years.
Thomas reminds us that “The Founders could define right from wrong, just as the ancients did.” John Adams wrote regarding our Constitution: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Another article, “Two Hundred and Fifty Years Later: Will We Remember the God Who Gave Us Liberty?,” by Faith Evans Pearson, offers a stark reminder of how much America’s moral climate and culture have changed from 1776 to 2026. Pearson writes, “The founding generation understood liberty differently from many Americans today.”
“Freedom did not mean independence from moral authority. Freedom meant the ability to live responsibly within the moral order established by God.”
Likewise, Jim Denison headlined this challenge:
Choosing between Two Revolutions—A Final Call to Decide What Kind of Nation—and What Kind of People—We Will Be.
Denison contrasted the basis of the American Revolution with that of the French Revolution of 1789, highlighting the philosophical differences and the subsequent impact they have had on our increasingly secularized culture.
The contrast can be summed up in the words of George Washington’s Farewell Address:
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports… And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
So, what is the future of America? What direction will we take? Will there be a spiritual awakening and revival?
Obviously, none of us can predict the future.
However, I am reminded and comforted by the age-old adage inspired by Ira Stanphill’s classic hymn: “I know not what the future holds. But I know who holds the future.”
I cannot determine the course of a nation, but I can determine the course of my own heart.
Here’s what you and I can control. You can choose to…
Refuse to be conformed to the current culture of ungodliness, but be transformed by God’s will and Word (Rom. 12:1-2).
Refuse to love the world and allow your heart and mind to be controlled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:15-17).
Live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age (Tit. 2:12).
Hold forth the Word of life without murmuring, whining, or complaining (Phil. 2:14-16).
Practice the Golden Rule and treat others with kindness, courtesy, and dignity (Matt. 7:12).
Love even your enemies (Matt. 5:43-48).
Speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).
Model the character of Christ in your home, church, community, profession, and personal life (Rom. 8:29; Lk. 6:40).
Place your ultimate trust in Jehovah God rather than in princes or political parties.
Seek those things which are above (Col. 3:1-2) and press on toward the heavenly prize (Phil. 3:13-14).
Yes, I’m thankful to be an American citizen with all the privileges it affords. But I’m even more thankful to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom, which assures my eternal destiny.
Christianity was born and flourished amid the corruption, immorality, and political upheaval of the Greco-Roman world. It can flourish today as well. And you and I can flourish with it.
Don’t become obsessed with what’s wrong with America. Focus on being right with God. Then determine to become all that you can be and all that God wants you to be.
—Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
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