Uprightness and right standing with God (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) elevate a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. – Proverbs 14:34, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Of all the quotes from George Washington’s Farewell Address to the people of the United States of America, few have been more cited than this one:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

After serving two terms as the fledgling nation’s first president under the Constitution, Washington wanted to give his people a gift of wisdom for the years to come. Central to that gift was the notion that no nation can maintain truth, justice, and honor without remaining rooted in the worship of God Almighty. Once a nation disconnects itself from God, sin abounds, and treachery replaces truth as a way of life.

On this 4th of July, remember that uprightness elevates a nation – just as it does a person – because God will honor those who honor Him. Forsake those things in your life that dishonor God, and pray that our nation as a whole will do the same. The only thing keeping us from God’s blessings is our unwillingness to let go of the things He hates.