What Makes a Nation Great?

The mark of a great society is not its GDP, gross domestic product. Neither is it the size of its standing army. Nor its power and prestige in the world. The mark of a great society is the mercy and compassion it shows towards the unfortunate, the poor, and the elderly.

The actions and attitudes of nations are irresistibly linked to their beliefs. I have been posting a series on the attributes of God and the moral framework He has revealed to guide mankind, because as belief in God declines so does our nation’s moral fabric. We imitate what we most admire.

Sadly, the mark left by many nations in the twentieth century has been cruelty, oppression, war and outright evil. Think Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and many others whose motivating principles were derived from belief in evolution and atheism more than faith in God. So far, the direction of the 21st century is not encouraging. Nations seem more bent on increasing GDP and countering climate change than fostering compassion.

A compassionate society is God-honouring society. Why? Because such a society imitates God who has revealed himself as merciful and compassionate.

The founders of the U.S. and those who established Canada understood the connection between God and greatness. The U.S. constitution recognizes this truth as does the motto on U.S coins, “In God we trust.”

In Canada, every time we sing O Canada, we declare an awareness of God’s role. We sing, “God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.” Three Bible verses have been carved in stone onto the exterior of the Peace Tower. The most well-known of these three verses is also Canada’s motto: ”He shall have dominion also from sea to sea” (Psalm 72:8). The preamble to the constitution states; “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” (See https://www.niagaradeclaration.ca/ )

In spite of our founding documents, both of our countries have been rapidly moving away from maintaining a connection between greatness and godliness. In Canada, why have we taken so long to ensure that our indigenous people have clean drinking water and good schools? In both our countries why have the elderly in long term care homes suffered so disproportionately from Covid-19? Why have those in low- income communities suffered so badly? Will Covid-19 shame us as a society into becoming more compassionate?

If we want to see our countries to become great again, each of us will imitate God by being merciful and compassionate. Mercy is the goodness of God expressed towards the unfortunate, poor, oppressed, bereaved, and fatherless. The Hebrew word racham means to ENFOLD WITH LOVE, TO CHERISH. God loves to enfold the unfortunate with his arms of compassion.

The Son of God came down to earth to show us the way. He demonstrated God’s mercy and compassion throughout his ministry. Jesus stood in a synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah a prophecy about himself. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.” (Luke 4:18,19).

Take one New Testament chapter as an example. In Mark 1 we find Jesus casting out an evil spirit, healing Simon’s mother-in-law, and delivering many from their infirmities. “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, If you are willing, you can make me clean. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. I am willing he said. Be clean! (Mark 1:40,41). Untold thousands felt his healing touch or heard his healing words. Let’s pray for a renewed interest in Jesus Christ and in reading the New Testament.

Mercy and compassion does not end with care for our physical bodies but extends to care for our eternal souls. How terrible if we feed and heal people only to leave them unprepared for the gloom and horror of eternal judgement. To be prepared to face God’s judgement seat, people need the good news of the gospel. Jesus died for our sins and rose again to save us. And so we must pray for God to send evangelists throughout our lands. We must pray for spiritual revival to touch all our churches and overflow into our communities. May it be so, Lord!

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