By David Kubal
“The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility” (Proverbs 15:33).

Today’s Americans are not the first to cry out for change, or to welcome a radical shift in focus. Discontentment is at our core, currently woven into the very fabric of who we are as a nation, and echoing the sentiments that first brought pilgrims to these shores. Our disenchantment with the abuse of power, and our restlessness with cultural decadence are simply symptoms of national discontent—a desire for something more; a longing for higher standards and true meaning.

View Comments (0)

This is nothing new. We have been down this road before.

Take America’s celebration of Christmas, one of our nation’s more surprising examples of cultural change. A few hundred years ago, the Puritans were so disturbed by materialistic practices influencing the Christmas traditions of their time—the blatant celebration of excess, the distortion of biblical truth—that they demanded reform. They expressed their discontentment with the course of their culture and chose to steer their communities on a different path, even outlawing the celebration in Boston to help restore godly conduct and perspective. The change took place gradually, and it wasn’t until 1870 that Christmas became a federal holiday—a turning point that marked a long journey toward family-oriented traditions and a heightened reverence for Christ and His birth.

Only 140 years later, we are drifting in our focus once again. Cultural and political distortions overwhelm us on all sides. As we consider how to intercede for our nation today, with all of its potential for change and transformation, our prayer must be that any renewed discontentment would drive us to embrace an attitude of reverence for God. Without this as our foundation, real change will never come. Regardless of who was just elected or which party is in control, we must intercede that an attitude of reverence and humility would affect everything from personal behavior to federal law.

May the Church fall upon her knees and cry out to God for mercy, that we would be known as a country with restored reverence for Christ, who is both our Cause and our Celebration. What a true gift of change this would bring!