Right on the Money
By: Jack Wyman
They were sad and difficult days.
Hope was scarce. The country was divided, at violent and bloody war with itself. Before it was over, the Civil War would claim the lives of more than 750,000 Americans. It would be our greatest and most heartbreaking crisis.
Not long after the horrendous battle at Antietam in 1862—the costliest of the conflict—Abraham Lincoln challenged Congress to abolish slavery. Calling the war a “fiery trial” through which the nation must pass, he said that “in giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.”
The nation’s motto was being tested: E Pluribus Unum—out of the many, one. In such a profound and intractable division how would national unity ever be restored? How could the United States be one nation again? Would these wounds ever be healed? Would kindness and civility ever be restored?
The future was bleak. People questioned the ways of God. They feared. They worried. They despaired. Nothing, it seemed, could ever make America whole again.
Then, in 1864, while the blood still flowed across America’s fields, with no end in sight, a change appeared on the two-cent coin, ordered by the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase. It would be a new national motto. Simple but profound. Clear and incontrovertible, an unchanging and ancient belief that would supersede even this war.
It would be a declaration of hope. A summons to unity. While America’s original motto focused on man’s ability to create a united nation from human diversity, this new motto, expressed in plain English, anchored the nation’s confidence in divine sovereignty. It would appear on all coins.
By the time Congress got around to making it official in March 1865, the bill would be the last one Lincoln signed before his assassination.
Nearly a century later, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the mandate that all American currency would display the four one-syllable words that would forever bind the nation in faith to the supreme deity.
It would not be an official religion; the Constitution forever and rightfully prohibits that. It would not infringe on sectarian expressions, religious freedom, or individual conscience.
It would, instead, be a clear affirmation that the United States, like every nation throughout history, is under the providential care, order, and eternal purpose of an almighty God. The nations of the earth are in his hands and subject to his will. All of us, believers or not, are beckoned to place our faith in a power greater than ourselves.
During the War of 1812, watching the nighttime bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, a lawyer and poet named Francis Scott Key jotted down a poem. It became our national anthem. The fourth verse expresses a triumphant confidence rooted in the nation’s righteousness:
“Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—'In God is our trust.’”
In God We Trust.
As Americans, we would battle, risk, sacrifice, persevere, struggle, and make progress as a nation. We would act bravely and nobly; at other times, not so much.
In the end, it would not be our genius or power that would preserve and protect us through war, poverty, disease, and division. It would be the almighty power of an almighty God. We would be united in our trust in him. No matter what we faced. No matter how things turned out.
According to USA Today, 90% of all Americans favor having “In God we Trust” on our currency. It may not affect the way they live, but it sure makes them feel better. The world blares at us. God still whispers to our conscience.
The reminder is in your pocket. It’s in your purse. It’s in your wallet. Take a look at it. Someone living through a national crisis engraved those words—on a penny.
Can you and I say, “In God We Trust”? In the midst of it all? And really mean it? And believe it? And live it? Is it the sum total of our faith? The guide to our conduct and our thinking? Is it the anchor of our souls in the storms of life? Do we trust in God as a theory? With a condition? Do we trust when it’s easy, when things are going well? Or do we trust God no matter what?
The playwright T.S. Eliot said that “the true test of Christianity is not how far in theory a man may logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far, in practice, he will stake his life on his beliefs.”
Recently we saw a monster hurricane rip through Florida. The impact was catastrophic. Will people trust in God to save them?
“So we will not fear when earthquakes come,” writes the psalmist, “and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” (Psalm 46:2-3). “He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God and I trust him.” (Psalm 91:2)
The words “In God We Trust” are not found in the Bible verbatim. Instead, the scriptures pulsate with the stories and people of faith. Every page proclaims the exhortation, “trust in God!” Not to trust in God is to mock him. To trust in ourselves is to deny him. To place our trust in votes, parties, candidates, and platforms, and in the outcome of elections, is to doubt him.
These are crazy times. They test our trust in God. They tempt us to find a more earthly refuge; to cling to that which cannot save us.
Stand. Speak. Read. Listen. Learn. Vote. In the end, more than all these, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Trusting God.
It’s right on the money.
To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.
CHRISTIANS ENGAGED NEEDS YOU!
Would you consider partnering with us as a monthly donor to support the work of our nonprofit ministry? Or maybe a generous one-time donation?