I am an American.

I was born in the United States. “This is my country, Land that I love….”

But it is an America that is a cause of grave concern to me. Changes have taken place that are alarming.

What has become of civility? Have integrity, morality, principle, truth and compassion become expendables, to be tossed aside in the pursuit of position, power and wealth?

Is patriotism being redefined? And what of the rule of law? Do the ends now justify the means?

I am aware that there have been similar times in our nation’s past. But I live in the here and now, not in the there and then, and it is the now that concerns me most. Have we not learned from the lessons of the past?

Let me also add that I am not unmindful or unappreciative of the good I also see, which must be acknowledged, affirmed and celebrated. This good epitomizes the American spirit.

But it is the destructive influences, the unbecoming behavior, the pursuit of absolute power and the fostering of ill will that are disturbing to me and, from what I hear, to others of us as well.

In the daily devotional I use, some of the articles have been based on selected passages from the Book of Proverbs. These ancient maxims are relevant.

Here are a few of them:

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out” (10:9, NIV).

“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (14:31, NIV).

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people” (14:34, NIV).

“Where there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability” (28:2, NLT).

“In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery” (28:23).

I pray daily for America. I pray for a great spiritual awakening. I pray that our land will be always be bright “with freedom’s holy light,” and that God will ever “protect us by” his “might.”

I pray that America will always be a beacon to the world as “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”