I remember sitting at my grandmother’s kitchen table, watching her worn hands trace the words “In God We Trust” on an old dollar bill. “This means something,” she’d say, her eyes meeting mine with an intensity I never forgot. “This isn’t just a motto – it’s a promise.”

Today, I look around and my heart aches. Really aches. Where did we go wrong? When did we start treating God like some distant relative we only visit on holidays?

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute. We say we trust God, but do we? Do I? When was the last time I actually opened my Bible before checking social media in the morning? When did you last pray about something other than a crisis?

The truth hurts, doesn’t it?

I walked through the mall yesterday and counted three stores that would’ve made my grandmother blush. Watched TV shows last night that casually mocked everything sacred. Scrolled past posts celebrating things the Bible clearly warns against. And what did I do? I kept walking. Kept watching. Kept scrolling.

We’ve become comfortable with sin. Too comfortable. It’s like we’ve invited darkness over for dinner, and now we’re surprised it won’t leave.

The Bible – not some watered-down version, but the real, raw truth in it – tells us exactly where this leads. Remember what God said in Isaiah 59:2 (NIV)? “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

Think about Sodom and Gomorrah for a minute. These weren’t just cities that had a few problems. They were places where people had completely lost their moral compass. Sound familiar? They probably didn’t wake up one morning and decide to become wicked. It happened slowly, one compromise at a time, one “it’s not that bad” at a time.

And here we are, doing the same thing.

God has blessed America beyond measure. Look at our history – from the desperate days at Valley Forge to the darkness of Pearl Harbor, from the Cuban Missile Crisis to 9/11. Time and again, when we turned to God as a nation, He was there. But here’s the thing about God’s protection: it’s not a one-way street. It’s a covenant.

I’m scared, if I’m being honest. Not of what others might do to us, but of what we’re doing to ourselves. Every time we choose silence over standing up for what’s right, every time we nod along with things we know in our hearts are wrong, we’re chipping away at the very foundation that’s kept us strong.

Remember when Joshua stood before the Israelites and said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15 NIV)? He wasn’t talking to the pagans. He was talking to God’s people who had gotten comfortable straddling the fence.

That’s us. Right now. Today.

I’m not writing this from some high horse. I’m right here in the trenches with you, struggling with the same compromises, fighting the same battles. But I’m also tired. Tired of pretending everything’s fine when it’s not. Tired of watching our country slide further from God while we sit in our comfortable pews and complain about the world going to hell.

The Bible says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

Notice it doesn’t say “if the government” or “if Hollywood” or “if everyone else.” It says “if my people.”

That’s us. You and me.

So here’s my question – my personal, heart-wrenching question to you: What are we going to do about it? Are we going to keep playing church while our nation crumbles? Keep putting God in the Sunday morning box while we live like practical atheists the rest of the week?

Or are we finally going to get real? Really trust God? Really live like we believe what we say we believe?

Because here’s the thing – God hasn’t moved. His promises haven’t changed. His power hasn’t diminished. But His patience? That’s not infinite. Just ask the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Oh wait, you can’t. There’s nothing left of them but ashes and a warning.

I’m making changes in my life starting today. Real changes. Hard changes. Because I can’t write these words and not live them. I don’t want to face my grandchildren someday and explain why their America isn’t the one I inherited. Why we traded God’s blessing for temporary comfort. Why we were too busy binge-watching Netflix to notice our nation’s soul slipping away.

What about you?

The words “In God We Trust” are still on our money. But they need to be written on our hearts again. Today. Now. Before it’s too late.

Because trust isn’t just a word. It’s a choice. And that choice has consequences.

What will you choose?