(4th in a series of “Why I Love America”)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Jesus is God’s perfect gift, and for Him we should be eternally grateful. But the United States is an exceptionally good gift from above, and those of us privileged to live in America should give thanks for that blessing every day.

As we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, it’s not “Christian Nationalism” to enthusiastically thank God for His generosity. Christians should not worship a country, but I believe it’s rank ingratitude to ignore His blessings and scoff at patriotism. Worship services across America this Fourth of July should overflow with gratitude for God’s goodness.

In a 2019 interview with Time, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “An entire generation, which is becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity.”

That is a blind and ungrateful way to look at America. By many measurements, America remains one of the most prosperous nations in the world. I’ve read that, by global standards, the great majority of Americans would be counted as upper-middle-income or high-income, and nearly 22 million people in the United States have a net worth of a million dollars or more.

That doesn’t mean every family is wealthy or that no one struggles. But the truth is that compared to the rest of the world, most Americans today have only known prosperity.

Previous generations of Americans — my parents among them — survived the scarcity of the Great Depression and the rationing of World War II. They would be shocked to witness the entitlement of so many today. Maybe that’s one reason newscaster Tom Brokaw dubbed them “The Greatest Generation.” They lived through hard times and were still patriotic, loyal, and grateful for God’s good gift.

It’s been said, “If you never travel, you have a backyard mentality.” Taking mission trips to developing countries does more to create gratitude than any comparative statistic. I’ve been to Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and India, and I always return with a deeper appreciation for how good the average person has it in the United States. I’ve also been to China, Korea, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland. But to me, there’s nothing that compares to the everyday prosperity and freedom we take for granted in the United States of America.

Many Americans have an entitlement problem and an ingratitude problem, and that spirit is spreading like a plague. Progressive educators, woke entertainers, socialist politicians, and liberal pastors exaggerate America’s flaws and blind us to her blessings. Yet Scripture points us in a better direction: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Recently, thousands of visitors from around the world came to America for the World Cup. It’s humbling to hear so many of them marvel at the prosperity and the friendliness of the American people.

One of my all-time favorite stories is about a farmer who, for some reason, began to criticize everything on his farm. His negative attitude soon left him so unhappy that he decided to sell the place and move. He listed the farm with a realtor and started searching for new property.

A few days later the realtor called to get his approval on an ad for the local newspaper. The realtor read about the ideal location, the lush pasture, the dependable water supply, the beautiful lake, the well-built barns, and the classic farmhouse. When the realtor finished, the farmer asked, “Would you read that to me again?” After hearing it a second time, he answered, “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to sell. I’ve been looking for a place just like that all my life!”

We are a lot like that farmer. The best place on earth has been right here the whole time, and we’ve been too busy complaining to be grateful.

PRAYER: Lord, forgive our thankless hearts and our critical spirits. Open our eyes and give us a renewed sense of gratitude for America. We pray in the name of the Perfect Gift — our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.