And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)
In the summer of 2006 a court case in Sacramento caught my attention. A self-proclaimed atheist filed a lawsuit claiming that the words In God We Trust on U.S. coins and currency violated his First Amendment rights. The U.S. District Judge ruled that the phrase did not violate his rights because the words amounted to a secular national slogan. Judge Damrell cited a similar case from 1970 in which the judge also determined that the slogan had become secularized.
A review of the history of the motto on U.S. currency reveals that it did not originate as a secular national slogan. The slogan first appeared on coins in 1864. According to the Department of the Treasury, the motto was placed on coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment that existed during the Civil War. Many ordinary citizens urged the change. A letter from 1861 is typical, written by a concerned minister to the Secretary of the Treasury: the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW [on U.S. coins] would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed.
In 1956, more than ninety years later, President Eisenhower approved a Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States. In 1957, the motto began appearing on paper money. Many believe this was a reaction to the cold war which was perceived to be at least in part a battle of Judeo-Christian beliefs versus atheist communism.
Just 50 years later, some people are fighting to have the slogan removed from all U.S. coin and currency. There is even a small group that only spends God-less money. They make the effort to cross the name of God off of every dollar they spend. It makes some kind of sense to them.
So what should our reaction be as Christians? We live in a nation in which many do not want to acknowledge God at all. In God We Trust still our national motto has become so trivialized that many consider it devoid of spiritual meaning.
I think we should follow the example of our Savior Jesus. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars, Jesus said during his life illustrating that he was not particularly concerned with coins or what was printed on them. But in regard to putting trust in God, Jesus led by example. Jesus put his trust in God and only in God at every step in his life. This eventually led him all the way to Gethsemane.
There was nothing trivial or secular about this kind of trust. Jesus trust was more than a motto; he trusted with all that he had. Lets put our trust in God like Jesus did with our time, money, and in fact our entire lives. In God We Trust. It turns out that there is nothing secular about it at all.