What Causes a Nation to Prosper?

What causes a nation to prosper? Does having the best economic plan, social programs, and entertainment cause this? Does having the best transportation, most “environmentally-friendly” power plants, and the best education system cause national prosperity? You may have guessed that my answer is no.

I believe that a nation prospers based on the conditional blessings of God. When a nation’s people and rulers fear God and demonstrate this by keeping His laws, then it will prosper. When King David of Israel prayed for his son Solomon and commissioned him to build the temple for God he said:

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.—1 Chronicles 29:11-12, ESV.

David recognized that his kingdom was really God’s and that it would rise or fall based on God’s blessing or curse. He recognized that everything he and his people offered to the Lord to build His temple really came from God to begin with. He prayed that God would “[g]rant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision (v. 19, ESV).” David understood that God’s blessing came as a result of keeping His commandments and honoring Him.

This is why, when considering who to vote for, I choose people who value life and biblical moral values as a priority. A free person’s (not a criminal’s) right to live trump’s anyone else’s rights. Aside from what the Bible says, which should be enough for Christians anyway, this is a self-evident truth of nature.

We may think we’re voting for the person with the best solutions to problems with the economy, education, and energy, but what does the person believe about protecting the fatherless and the defenseless, especially the unborn? What does he believe about marriage? Does he believe rights come from the government, or does God give them equally to humans at birth, based on their intrinsic value as humans who reflect the image of God and are not simply animals. What does he believe about debt and about taking personal responsibility for one’s family.

These are the only sure, important issues to base your vote on. All of the other issues are too complicated for any human to be sure he has the exact, best solution. Of course, these solutions must be based on a biblical world-view, but beyond that, there are so many uncontrollable factors to consider. Typically, the candidates who value biblical moral values will have the best solutions to other issues anyway, since their beliefs about the value of human life will influence every other area of policy.

Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education: To which is Subjoined a Brief History of the United States (Google eBook)