Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. – Psalm 33:12

The Best Picture Oscar in 1989 went to the movie, Driving Miss Daisy, a comedy-drama about how two unlikely people grow to depend on one another. Daisy Werthan is a wealthy, white, retired school teacher who lives alone (stubbornly) in Atlanta. Hoke Colburn is her driver, a black man with more patience than Job. Not only do these two grow to like each other, as they grow older, they come to depend on each other for friendship, and Hoke eventually becomes Miss Daisy’s caregiver, as old age sets in. The movie covers a host of issues from racism to class boundaries, but it is Daisy’s stubborn independence and initial unwillingness to accept help from anyone that most intrigues me.

America was founded by people who sought freedom from the tyranny of the English crown. When it came time for them to draft a statement expressing their commitment to resist that tyranny, the document would come to be known as the Declaration of Independence. They felt justified in “dissolving the political bands” which connected them to England because they believed that the Laws of Nature superseded the authority of the King.

But, our country needs to recognize the source and the authority of the author of those Laws of Nature. God’s rule applies to all nations, whether or not they are submitted to it. The spirit of independence may have delivered us from a corrupt monarch, but that same spirit today entices the American people to reject the authority of the true King. We behave like Miss Daisy, stubbornly refusing the help and companionship we so desperately need.

So it is well past time for our nation to declare its dependence on God by returning to living by His principles and recognizing Him as the Author of our freedom. This will happen by the church becoming the conscience of government. Through its national solemn assembly, it should clearly and respectfully call political leadership to God’s principles for government.

Check out more from Tony Evans @Tonyevans.org