Random thought of the week: God Bless America

Just to let you know, as I feel like I need to, this is just my opinion. Please feel free to comment and leave thoughts and suggestions. God wanted me to type out what I did tonight....I'm not sure why, but He does. Hope you enjoy.

So we all know the song, "God Bless America." It's words have been engraved into our heads.
"God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home."

The other day when I was home for the weekend. I thought about this song. Is this song,"God Bless America," relevant to today's culture and society? This song was written in 1918 by Irving Berlin, who was serving in a U.S. army camp in Yaphank, New York. Though written in 1918, it didn't become popular till 1938 when Kate Smith sang it on her radio show on the 21st anniversary of Armistice Day in World War I. This video is a copy of the original showing. It gave me goosebumps. Please watch before you continue reading. It will help you undertstand where I am going with this post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnQDW-NMaRs 


Since this song was written at the end of World War I, Berlin gives us a sense of what the Americans were thinking and feeling at that time. God had brought them through a horrific war with over 5,000,000 casualties. It takes a lot to tell God to bless America and not to hate Him for bringing the war upon them, though I'm sure there were some that did. Can we as American ask God to bless America right now? Going through the World War, the American people deserved God's blessing at that time, in my opinion. I don't think we deserve it today. God has already blessed us so richly and yet we take it for granted. And people wonder why God has slowly taken his hand off America in protecting. He has stood beside us and guided us to the best of His ability, but we don't acknowledge that. "Stand beside her and guide her, thru the night with the light from above." I think the song should read "America Bless God." Shouldn't we give back to God and let Him see how thankful we are for His blessings that He has so richly bestowed onto us. Unfortunately in due time,we are not going to have those freedoms that we have now. Before long, we, as Christians, won't be able to own Bibles, much less read them. We won't be able to meet in church, but those who are fully devoted followers of Christ will still meet secretly in an "underground church" despite what might happen to them. We won't be able to say the name, "Jesus Christ" without being persecuted or martyred for it. Do we really want America to head in this direction or are we, as "radical" Christians ready to take a stand? Don't we want to sing "God Bless America," without feeling guilty, because I know I do? I want to be able to sing this unofficial national anthem knowing that we have given God credit for all that He has blessed us with. Don't you?