Lincoln’s Warning to Modern Americans

Today marks the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s second State of the Union address.  On December 1, 1862, Lincoln called on Congress to ensure God’s blessing on America by ending slavery.

Just weeks earlier, Lincoln warned Confederate states that he intended to free slaves in all states in a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. He took the next step on December 1. He asked Congress to ban slavery by passing a constitutional amendment.

Lincoln relied heavily on economic and political arguments throughout his address. Yet he finished with with a more poignant appeal. Freeing the slaves would ensure the country remained free for everyone, preserve America as “the last best hope of earth,” and guarantee God’s hand of favor:

In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free – honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just – a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.

On December 1, 2015, America stands at the moral crossroads again. Slavery is dead, but Americans still have important work to do.

We must defend marriage and the Church from destruction in the name of “tolerance.” We must protect the unborn from murder and women from exploitation for the sake of “sexual liberation.”  We must offer refuge to our Christian brethren from Syria and label their persecution at the hands of ISIS as genocide.  We must examine our own hearts for any remnant of racism or prejudice.

Our legacy hinges on how we meet these challenges. “Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history,” Lincoln warned in 1862. The same is true today. We too “will be remembered in spite of ourselves.” Our actions today will “light us down in honor or dishonor” to future generations.

If we expect God to bless America, we need to bring our laws and way of life into line with His word. Our country and our freedom depend on it.