By Dennis Rowan

"When He slew them, then they sought Him; and they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth and they lied to Him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant. Psalm 78:34-37,NIV ).

Many U.S. congressmen stood on the Capitol steps soon after the September 11 tragedy and began singing "God Bless America". It seemed spontaneous, sounded great, and was no doubt sincere by most, if not all of those who joined in that well known song. As I watched their actions on a newscast and looked at the faces of those men and women, I could readily identify several in the crowd. Right or wrong, I'll tell you what ran through my mind at the time.

I couldn't help but think about many of the actions, and inactions of that body of people who meet in our nation's capitol and make decisions that affect lives of all Americans. I thought, "You bunch of hypocrites! "You seemed to have done most everything imaginable during the past 30 years to slap God in the face, and now you have the nerve to sing 'God Bless America'." I also wondered whether these people were now recognizing that God has blessed America in years past, or is this bunch who have been acting like atheists now think it is time to seek out God and ask Him to bless us? It has been said that there are no atheists in foxholes, for once the bullets and grenades start flying around your head it seems like an appropriate time to give God a 911 call even if you have told others God doesn't exist.

Here's something else to think about. I live in "fly-over" land in a rural area called Gap Mills, WV. In fact most people who read this are from the fly-over areas, places like Rock Springs, WY, Satanta, KS, Des Moines, IA, Macon MO., Rector, AR., Jackson, TN., Morganton, N.C., Hunter, ND and Germany Valley, IL. As awful as those events were on Sept. 11, I had no eminent fear that one of those hijacked planes would hit here. However, it took me a couple days to think about the fact that most of those congressmen could have very well been killed by those terrorists. That's when I realized that those congressmen had more than a little reason to be wearing such sober faces. Frankly, I think many of those congressmen where simply singing from a foxhole. Their wake up call was a bit different from mine and yours, except by the grace of God a plane could have landed in their camp. Don't get me wrong, if people turn to God because they get the Hell scared out of them, that's fine with me.

Put in the past tense, God really has blessed America. And, many Christians will agree with me that we American's have been living on borrowed time so to speak. We have drawn on His Bank of Mercy to the point that we are apt to get an overdrawn notice. Some are asking, "Was this tragedy God's judgment on America?" I'm going to make just two quick points. The Bible tells over and over how God warned the people of Israel that calamity would come if they didn't change their ways. Second point is a metaphor: if we (as a nation) habitually run all red lights, we will perhaps escape harm for a season, but continued reckless decision making and/or sleeping at the wheel won't last forever; some day tragedy will visit the intersection in which we travel.

Let's look back. Are you a flag waver now? Did you wave the flag before 9/11? Did you have a deep respect for our nation's Christian heritage prior to 9/11? Let's hope this new found unity in congress will last, that America's patriotism will continue longer than it did following the Gulf War, and that we will earnestly seek God. I'll be honest, I didn't trust our politicians to do right things before 9/11, and over the long haul I don't expect them to make correct decisions in the future.

The Bible tells His story, and is a great historical reference point. Let's look back farther…...all the way back to Old Testament days. This would be a good time for you to re-read Psalm 78:34-37 shown under the title of this piece. Now let me paraphrase that scripture. When the people of Israel got in big trouble, when a bunch of them got killed, then those who remained got real religious all of a sudden...you know, a bit like singing "God Bless America" from a foxhole. Anyway, they remembered God; "Oh yeah, He is our Rock, Our Redeemer. That's right God, I'm with you man, and just to prove it I am going to stand here on the Capitol steps and sing to you!" Notice that the Bible says they flattered Him with their lips and lied to Him with their tongue. You know what? If you are going to flatter and lie, choose someone besides God; that boat won't float. So, the Israelis got in trouble, sought God, but not sincerely because it wasn't from the heart. Since it wasn't from the heart, they were not faithful to His covenant. Sad, but true. Pretty pure and simple, don't you think?

No prayer in public schools, no Ten Commandments in public, approving the killing of unborn babies, special privilege for homosexuals, lying, stealing, cheating are all packed in the bags of a voting majority of our self-serving politicians …..I'm sorry, but I just don't trust them. Oh, they will continue for a while to sing from their foxholes, but I'll have to see more than that to believe they have any intentions of honoring God's covenant.

I do trust Christians throughout the land. It is certainly an opportune time for us to proclaim the Gospel to lost people. We Christians too, have dealt with many trivial matters in the past. We need to lay all of that down. If we do, then we can focus on the One we can trust. Oh, and by the way, seek him in your prayer closet (Matt, 6:6), not on the Capitol steps.