–– David de Bruyn
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The national anthem of South Africa begins with the words Nkosi’ Sikelele Africa – God bless Africa. Not often do people stop to ask, ‘Should God bless Africa?’ ‘Why would God bless Africa?’
The Bible describes the source of blessing for a country, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34) When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. (Prov. 29:2) The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it. (Prov. 29:4) Righteous rulers and righteous citizens mean the nation is righteous.
So what is meant by righteousness in a land? It does not mean mere morality. It doesn’t refer to people who reject God being nicer than they were before. Jesus condemned the moralism of the Pharisees more than the sin of the tax collectors. Scripture tells us that all our righteousness is like filthy rags. Until a man stops rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, the wrath of God abides on Him. As we look to Christ in faith as our only means of reconciliation with God, His righteousness is credited to us, while our sin penalty is paid by Him.
A righteous ruler is not a ruler who denies Christ but happens to be nice and fair. A righteous citizen is not one who rejects Jesus but happens to keep the civil laws. A righteous person, in the Bible, is one who has been declared righteous by God’s grace and then lives that out by God’s power. When a nation is increasingly filled with rulers and citizens made righteous by the blood of Christ, God’s blessing is already upon that nation, and gives reason for it to continue.
The process of having a righteous population or righteous rulers, then, must begin with the Gospel. It makes no sense to try and enforce outwardly what only the Gospel can ultimately produce inwardly. That puts the cart before the horse. The Gospel must be preached far and wide, and healthy churches must be planted.
Now, Scripture points out that when a nation has righteous rulers and righteous subjects, God will bless that physical country. Scripture teaches that God often blesses a household, city or country for the sake of the righteous that are dwelling there.
What will a nation look like where more and more of the righteous are in authority, and more and more of the citizenry are righteous?
1. Respect for religious belief. A righteous nation would not make Christianity mandatory for its citizens, nor would it be ashamed of its Christianity. There would be freedom, without pretended neutrality.
2. Strong law enforcement with fewer laws. That might sound contradictory, but in a righteous nation, there will be fewer laws to follow, but the ones that are on the books are enforced with a strong police force, impartial judiciary, and effective penal system.
3. Strong incentive to be productive and a strong caution against laziness. That’s because in a righteous nation, the market is free, free to be rewarded by its own hard work, and swift to be punished by competition when it is sloppy, wasteful and lazy. The government limits its involvement in an economy to punishing those who steal, lie, and break laws of ethics and contractual agreements. The government does not try to manage the economy. Righteous rulers don’t subsidise laziness with other people’s tax money, nor do they tax the nation in ways that encourage emigration, tax evasion or less productivity.
4. Defence of human life, meaning no state-supported or state-legalised abortion. The price of human life would be so high that to be convicted of murder would require an equally high penalty, which would be the death penalty, carried out not by corporate society. That also means defending the lives of its citizens from aggressive nations, which requires a military capable of doing so.
5. Deep culture of accountability for those in authority, with strong limits on power, checks and balances. Strong penalties for those found guilty of bribery and corruption.
Those are just some of the ways a righteous nation would experience blessing. But the more Christians permeate society, the more blessings you would see: more schools, more orphanages, more adoptions, more clinics and rehabilitation centres, more beauty in music and the arts, more innovations in science and technology, more places of leisure, beauty and recreation, better stewardship of our water, rivers, and wildlife.
God curses nations for their wickedness, but God blesses nations for righteousness: true, God-given righteousness when it is found in the rulers and the citizens.
So how do we know if God is blessing or cursing a nation? The more the righteous, the more righteousness, and the more blessing. Righteousness brings the blessing, but also, righteousness is the blessing. May God increase the righteousness of our nation with His Word through His church.