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MINISTERIAL MUSINGS:
Can God Bless America? Only if We Repent
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I am not trying to be critical, because I love America. But the truth will set you free. We must realize that there are other people in this world besides us. We should also realize how America became America. We must go back into our history and remember that Native Americans were here before us. Where are they now? On reservations, and some are poor and landless. Native Americans signed over 100 treaties with the US and we broke every one of them.
And how many Africans were taken from their land to help build America and Europe?
We should take all of this into consideration. We Americans have a lot of blood on our hands. But if we repent, God can forgive our sins.
We want God to bless America. Well, God did not make junk. He made people. We as a human race are connected. When God looks at us, does he see righteous people or greedy people?
We are carrying more weight than we should. God doesn’t care who is white or black, left or right wing, rich or poor, blue or white collar, Catholic or Protestant, Muslim or Jew, Democrat or Republican. He is concerned only about the human race. How easy it is to forget what our forefathers have written in the constitution–– “...all men are created equal”—and, years later, in our pledge–– “with liberty and justice for all.”
Over half the incarcerated people in the US today are African-American males. Why is it that 12 percent of the total U.S. population represents 51 percent of the national prison and jail population? Why is it that we can catch a young man for robbing a 7-11 and send him to jail for half of his life, but we can’t send one guilty Enron or Worldcom executive to jail? Is this the kind of “liberty and justice for all” we really want?
A lot of blessings have been granted to America. Let’s not blow it. Our lives are a gift from God, and what we do while on earth can be our gift back to Him. No country or President is higher than God.
Jesus said, “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
This is not a play or a dream, my fellow Americans. This is real. Think about it and repent.
Mr. Freeman, a Baltimorean, is a lay minister, former radio announcer, retired UPS man, and freelance writer.
Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.
This story was published on November 9, 2002.
