Some people "compartmentalize" their lives to keep religion and government separate. They may even advocate the separation of church and state. However, God intends for His Word to be moral compass to influence and guide every aspect of human life (John 8:32; 17:17; Psalm 119:11). Christ's kingdom and His righteousness should be our number one priority (Matthew 6:33). The Bible provides God's direction to have our "senses exercised to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).
When parents instill such biblical principles, these spiritual convictions should influence every facet of existence. One notable example of the impact of religious upbringing is our 40th President, Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). Speaking at President Reagan's funeral last year, Vice-President Dick Cheney said: "President Reagan once said, 'I learned from my father the value of hard work and ambition and maybe a little something about telling a story. From my mother, I learned the value of prayer. My mother told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God's plan, even the most disheartening setbacks. And, in the end, everything worked out for the best.'" With his mother Nelle as his primary spiritual influence, on September 21, 1922, Reagan confessed his faith in Christ and was baptized at the Disciples of Christ church in Dixon, IL.
Even those who disagreed with him politically would agree that Reagan was a man of spiritual convictions. He remained religious all his life; his personal optimism and spirituality guided his presidency. His principled leadership did not yield to opinion polls or to the elites. Reagan's convictions compelled him to oppose and dismantle the evil, atheistic empire of the Soviet Union, ending the cold war. For such reasons, President Reagan was recently named "The Greatest American" in an online vote for the Discovery Channel.
On August 23, 1984, President Reagan spoke at a Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, TX. These excerpts give insight into his spiritual convictions and his views of church and state: "I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation-and always has--and that the church ... has had a strong influence on the state. And this has worked to our benefit as a nation. Those who created our country--the Founding Fathers and Mothers-understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion. The Mayflower Compact began with the words, 'In the name of God, amen.' The Declaration of Independence appeals to 'Nature's God' and the 'Creator' and 'the Supreme Judge of the world.'' Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God. Religion played not only a strong role in our national life; it played a positive role. But in the 1960's, this began to change. We began to make great steps toward secularizing our nation and removing religion from its honored place. Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
God has ordained government (Romans 13). When we follow God, there is morality and virtue in our nation. "Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah" (Psalm 33:12). Every other interest group seeks to impact the state. Why shouldn't the church seek to impact the state for righteousness? As Christians, let us always let our lights shine (Matthew 5:14-16) to influence the morality of our community, our nation, and our world. May God bless America.
