On this date — Feb. 4 — of 1789, the Electoral College unanimously chose Revolutionary War hero George Washington as the first president of the United States of America. As he had been the commander-in-chief and indispensable leader in the fight to create our nation, so he would now be the political commander-in-chief and the indispensable man to launch this new republic on the world stage.
Washington did not take office until April 1789, at which time he delivered the first ever presidential inaugural address. In that speech, he made it his priority to extol the blessings of God, express his gratitude to Divine Providence, and urge his fellow Americans to follow his example in casting their fortunes at the feet of the eternal and only King Whom the USA would ever acknowledge.
Sadly, 250 years after our country's birth, Americans are increasingly irreligious, especially young people and leftists, with one in four Americans identifying as religious "nones" and only 13% attending church weekly (per Gallup). On the other hand, over 80% of Americans still believe in God. This is a hopeful sign in one sense, but not sufficient. After all, Satan believes in God, but he also defies God; unless one follows God's laws and changes one's life, believing in him is not necessarily beneficial to oneself or society.
Read Also: Peter Pan, Winnie-the-Pooh, and the Vital Importance of Imagination
How does this tie back in with Washington's election and inauguration? Because looking at the culture war in America, from abortion to transgenderism to schools' child grooming to broken families to fatherlessness to violent activism to homosexual "marriage," Washington would have one main piece of advice for us. It is the same advice he gave to his compatriots during his first inaugural address.
Washington began that historic speech by saying "it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge."
The key is that Washington did not want this devotion of his to be merely personal. Washington was himself a devout Episcopalian, and he sent beautiful letters to Catholics and Jews, among others. He was convinced that America's liberty and rights could not survive without devotion to the Judeo-Christian God who granted those rights. "In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- citizens at large less than either," Washington said in his inaugural address. "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."
As he had during the Revolution, he attributed success to God:
Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage.
In conclusion, I think we all might take to heart Washington's advice and recite his prayer for America, trusting in God our King as the Father of our Country did: "These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none [besides Providence's] under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence."
