As I start this article, the national debt is $14,357,186,187,653.88, but by the time I finish it, the debt will be much higher. With the population of the United States at 310,998,322, this means that each citizen owes $46,164.83. So, if you thought your finances were struggling, make sure you add this number to bills you need to pay. It is obvious that as a nation and with each of us as individuals responsible for the debt, we are in trouble.
There is a far greater debt that our nation owes, and the amount of that debt cannot be expressed by numbers. It is the debt we owe our God for all that He has done for us. Who can doubt that in the past, God had truly blessed us as a people? It is He who said that righteousness exalts a nation. With all that is happening now, we must remember that it is He who turns into hell all those nations who forget Him.
The songs which a nation sings tell so much of the heart of a nation. There are those stirring patriotic songs, which in times of war, take on new meaning. In the crisis of war, the soul of America sings these songs because they reflect what is our focus at such a time. Think of how the following hymn seems so appropriate today. Our nation needs to sing it! He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song.
“Amazing Grace.” Christ Jesus paid
A debt that I could never pay.
How could we ever repay God for the gift of His son? He is truly God’s indescribable gift to us (2 Cor. 9:15). He was in heaven and left it all. Paul said, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). There is no way to repay such a debt, but our gratitude can show how thankful we are for all He did.
What will America do about the national debt? The president and congress will have to deal with that. A far more important question to ask is, “What will America do about the spiritual debt we owe?” Perhaps the answer is found in the words God spoke to Israel during the days of Solomon. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). It is past time for our nation to pay its national debt—the spiritual one!