God Bless America?

by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light
from above...

This well-known song appears in many Christian hymnals, and functions as a popular and unofficial anthem of the United States.

Particularly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, a host of “God bless America” bumper stickers cropped up on cars all over the country. It seemed to be a way to proclaim support for this country when our national identity was under attack.

As an alternative to this trend, many Mennonites and others that I know posted a different sticker on their cars: “God bless the whole world—no exceptions.”

Theologically, this makes good sense. As Christians, our primary allegiance is not to any particular nation. Rather, we pledge allegiance to the one who is Lord over all nations.

So what does it mean when we ask God to bless someone, a nation or even the whole world?

The Greek word for “bless” literally means “to speak well of.” In Scripture, there is much talk of God blessing the people of Israel and later the church—“speaking well” of them, in a sense, and showing them favor.

But this blessing is not exclusive, nor is it unconditional. God blessed Abram so that he could bless other nations. And God instructed the people of Israel that divine blessings are a response to their faithfulness and right intentions.

When we pray for God’s blessing upon any people or nation—or even the whole globe—do we mean for God to bless the good parts and the bad, those in keeping with God’s will and those that aren’t?

There are lots of good parts to the United States—for starters, we enjoy freedom of speech and the freedom to worship how we please. We have a diverse society with laws to protect individual rights. And although there have been some obvious glitches, we have a largely well-functioning democracy.

Of course an honest look also reveals parts that are shameful. Our history has included pushing Native Americans off of their land, enslaving Africans, forcibly relocating Japanese Americans to internment camps during World War II, and covertly supporting the overthrow of democratically- elected governments.

Anabaptists have often remained silent in the face of these injustices. Grateful to have religious freedom, and uncomfortable with getting involved in politics, those of us with German heritage often focused more on establishing our U.S. allegiance.

But being sympathetic to one’s country and appreciating its good points does not mean that we cannot also call our nation to accountability.

I would hope that this is true no matter what country we live in. If we want what is best for our nation and the world, then we will offer critique together with affirmation, praise with accountability.

As we seek to be faithful in this country we call home, may God guide her (and all nations of the world) “through the night with a light from above.”