Does America Have a Soul?
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)
We are about nine months from the 2024 elections, and the rhetoric continues to increase. Recently, I heard a political figure talk about “The soul of America.” The ongoing difficulty our nation is experiencing is one of identity. The different leadership groups in our society do not agree on what constitutes America’s soul. Unless we can agree on what we value as a common federacy, our nation will continue to suffer and could begin to decline.
In Good News for Bad Days, Paul Keenan warns, “When society loses its ability to define human nature, it loses its sanity, its sense of direction.” When political parties are more concerned with hurting each other than helping the nation, we lose our way. When we are willing to allow school shootings to become normalized because we cannot discuss gun control and further investment in mental health care, our nation’s soul suffers. Prayerfully consider your list of soul-crushing situations and how to address them faithfully.
A way to national healing and redevelopment of the corporate soul is to focus on deeper values rather than individual controversies. People may disagree on specific responses to gun control, immigration, or abortion, for example, finding common ground on deep-seated values that inform our moral decisions. Keenan conveys, “Prudence, justice, courage, moderation, faith, hope, love-these guides or powers are the true guides that come from the very depths of our souls that enable us to make soulful choices in our relationships, which enable us to choose values that are sound rather than values that are not.”
As people of faith in our Triune God, we have a divine guide that helps us define values and soulful choices. Yet, being guided by God is not a passive pursuit. We have the Bible but must read and reflect on it while listening for the Holy Spirit’s illumination. We have prayer, worship, mission, and other forms of guidance, but it requires time and commitment. Today, invite God to intercede more profoundly in your life. Trust God to guide us through the oft-painful controversies and lead us to peace of mind through mutual support and divine love. Then, we can find our soul amid the differences within our nation and world.