The Death of Covenant in America

by Pastor Sharron I. Scott, Let Go and Soar Ministries

7/16/14, revised 1/31/15

Is covenant dead in America? In order to answer that question truthfully or accurately, we need to define the word “covenant”.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words defines covenant as:

(literally, a coming together), which signifies a mutual undertaking between two parties or more, each binding himself to fulfill obligations...

What is the difference between covenant, promise and contract?

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words defines promise as:

An undertaking to do or give something. Frequently signifies a gift graciously bestowed, not a pledge secured by negotiation, as in “the promise of the Spirit” (Gal. 3:14)

Webster's Dictionary defines contract as:

“a written, binding agreement between two or more parties”

If we explore the relationship each of these has with the others, we can see their differences. Covenant is a “coming together.” Two or more willingly become one in mind and spirit, binding themselves to each other to fulfill agreed-upon obligations.

Genesis 9:8-17

⁸Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him? ⁹”I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰and with every living creature that was with you-- the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹I will establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

¹⁷So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

This is an example of covenant between God and all living creatures. It is an everlasting covenant. It will never end. It was spoken to Noah. Terms, conditions, agreement, honor, trust; all much deeper than a promise.

A promise is something one can do alone (to yourself or to God). You may do it FOR another person (for example, promising to never tell a lie again, promise to pay back a debt). It is something one takes upon oneself. Certainly promises are broken frequently. But a promise does not require action from another person, other than accepting and trusting. A “mutual promise” still is an individual action, as each party decides within themselves what they will or will not do.

Luke 24:49

⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus fulfilled God's promise to his beloved by sending his Holy Spirit. God's promises are never broken.

A contract is a legally binding document, signifying an agreement between parties. There is usually a “penalty clause” for severing a contract, which involves sever penalties. BUT it is agreed-upon by all parties concerned, as signified by signatures and seals. In my research I have yet to discover a contract in scripture. It may well be that it is a man-made documentation of a promise or agreement.

Now, taking a slightly different path, let's look at the word “honor.” (as a noun and verb) It is primarily a valuing, a price paid or received, i.e. to be paid honor, or to receive an honor. Or a reward for an act well done. Also to hold in esteem, as in to honor God. Valuing Christ, valuing a person. Honor bestowed by the Father upon him who serves Christ (John 12:26). As in the duty of children to honor their parents, the duty of all to honor the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has also been used synonymously with “glorify; to have glory or be made glorious”. So honor is a thing, and it is also something you can do or bestow upon someone.

Deuteronomy 26:19

¹⁹He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.

Here we see that God is honoring his beloved faithful who are obedient, according to his promise. So he promised to honor his faithful people. Amazing.

How about the word “respect”? To esteem, regard, to honor. We can see that respect and honor are close, and may even be synonymous at times. And they both require that we hold “value”.

1 Peter 2:17

¹⁷Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

I love this passage. It teaches us to respect, love, fear and honor appropriately.

Is there really such a thing as Covenant in America?

And now we will address the main question: “Is Covenant in America really dead?” If you were to ask any person under the age of twenty the meaning of “covenant”, chances are you would be staring at a rather blank look on their face. At least that has been my experience. There are some who are a bit more perceptive of what you are really asking, and from those you may hear the response, “It's something like a promise.”

Indeed, we can even venture to say that many of the over-twenty crowd would not have a more enlightened answer. I find that quite alarming. My reasoning is this: If the average person who has supposedly completed a secondary education, at the very least, cannot define the word “covenant”, can we safely say it is not taught in public education, or at home, or discussed in churches?

Why is this important? It is our belief that if we are not teaching the principle of covenant to our youth, we are also not teaching them the value of honor and respect. Oh, we would say that most of them are familiar with the term “promise”, and don't give much weight to it. We can fairly confidently say that the majority of us still remember the last time someone broke a promise they made to us. Many of us grew up realizing that a person's word means next to nothing in most cases. They idea of an agreement sealed with a handshake is amusing. “I give you my word” is an obsolete phrase.

How does this relate to or reflect upon respect? Well, within my scope of experience, when someone breaks a promise they have broken trust. There are exceptions to this, however I believe it to be true most of the time. And without trust, respect is non-existent.

So, if most people we have questioned about the definition of covenant believe it to be just another word for “promise”, and our theory on the validity of promises holds true, then most people think that covenants are also unreliable, and hold little to no value.

Let's tie this in with honor. If you were to ask the same group of young people (or anyone for that matter) the definition of “honor”, what would you hear? In my experience asking this question, the response I get back is “to pay respect to”. Or “to acknowledge an accomplishment” (as with the 'honor roll' at school). What does honor have to do with covenant? Well, let's think about that. If you have entered into a covenant, it certainly can contain a promise. It must contain honor and respect for all parties. We have also mentioned the word “trust”. Certainly covenant has a huge amount of trust involved. And parties involved must hold these core values.

In my experience, the covenant(s) I have chosen to enter into do not have any “escape clauses”. It is my solemn vow to keep a mindset and heart and core value until the day I die. It takes an “attitude of servitude”. That doesn't mean I won't make mistakes or trip up occasionally. I still have my human nature. But it means that the covenant is still in place regardless of my mistakes. And it also requires LOVE. Covenant is a heart matter. In covenant you must give of yourself. And you must receive from another. It is an exchange of “Agape” (pure, unconditional) love, although it takes two.

Now, if we do not teach this to our children in our words and actions, and they grow up not valuing covenant or even considering it a part of life, they will not teach it to their children. They will grow up without value of life-long commitments. They will not know how to properly honor and respect and value others or themselves. And to me that is a devastating thought. I already see this reflected in our society today. If they do not see covenant, grow up experiencing it as love, they cannot live it out.

I know this is a weighty statement, but look around; in our society, what is the divorce rate in and out of the church? How many children do you know who actually have and show respect to authorities in their lives? We all make mistakes, but how do we explain the recidivism in our prisons and jails? You see, to receive and participate in covenant, you must take responsibility for your own part. It is a huge undertaking. And it is, or can be a real Romans 12:2 journey:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

I believe that until we begin to teach covenant, respect, honor, trust and value for authority, and live and walk in pure love exhibited to those in our own care, the deterioration of marriages and families will continue. The rate of homelessness and the mindset of entitlement will continue to grow. The misuse of funds intended solely for those unable to work due to serious physical or other disabilities will continue to increase and the funds will run out because of the deceitfulness of those “working the system”.

I believe this also spreads out into the workforce. If we do not teach our youth to value “working your way up the ladder”, and learning by experience, and instead continue to allow them to live off of others or wander from town to town without a home and be content to do so, we will continue to see the rate of unemployment rise.

Questions like “Why should I respect that person? They don't respect me!”, “Why should I treat them with love? They don't treat ME with love!” and the inability to keep a job through tough times are symptoms of not being able to cope with adversity. Teaching our children to honor and respect their family and friends and co-workers and employers, as well as law enforcement and government officials, those serving our country in and for any type of government service, and the armed forces, directly effects how they will see themselves. Approximately less than 10% of US citizens have ever served in our military. It will also effect their ability to work well with others. And it will also determine how successful they will be in finding the mate that is right for them, and raising a family that will hold together.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to teach any of these values without GOD. Yes, I said it and I meant it. Without God present, it is not a covenant. “Civil union” is not marriage. There is no covenant in a “civil union”. We cannot, for our own convenience, re-invent or adapt or change that which God has created. Marriage is very specifically between a man and woman and God. It is a covenant that can't be entered into by any other combination of people. He would not be a part of that. He would not, and will never bless that. We can't re-define what God has defined. That provision was not given to us. When we try to do so, we are trying to be God.

“Civil Union” is just two people agreeing to “try”. Without God present in the hearts of both people, they will never truly be able to work through the hard times that inevitably come. Standing in front of a clerk's window and signing a marriage certificate is not marriage. At best, it is an agreement to “try”. Without the love of Jesus present in their union, there is only selfishness. And if BOTH partners do not have the Holy Spirit within them, they cannot give that love to another. They can't expect God to bless that marriage. Therefore it is destined to fail, or recede into a loveless partnership.

I truly believe that only with the presence of the Holy Spirit in a marriage can a man and wife learn how to love each other unconditionally. It is not an automatic thing. It must be learned. And it is a choice. Also, unless it is modeled by the parents, it cannot be present in the children. They cannot give what they don't have, and the children can't receive what isn't given.

If that foundation is not set in the beginning, then it is also not going to be present in future relationships, whether personal or professional. Again, we cannot give what we have not received. We cannot teach what we have not learned.

I also believe that, because of the world we have all grown up in, we must, MUST teach new Christians what covenant, honor, respect, and trust look like. We must teach them how to walk in these things. We must teach them how to respond to situations differently, with the heart of Jesus. It does absolutely no good to hand them a bible and tell them to read it, and ask questions when they have them. Or tell them to go to a home group. Those things are good, but when confrontation or difficulties come, how will they know exactly what to do? How will they respond in a crisis? Chances are they will revert to old, familiar behaviors and responses.

We must give them, and our children (grown or small) coping skills. Actual tools to use when they are confronted with life situations. Yes, it's great to give them scriptures, but showing them how to battle from a place of honor and respect is far more powerful. Learning how to “Stop and think--'Is that what love looks or sounds or feels like?' or “How does Jesus see this person or situation right now?” or “what would make Father God happy in this situation?” Then quickly ask Holy Spirit to give you strength to respond in love and to use you to be a blessing. Or ask yourself how you can be a blessing to someone on purpose today. Honor someone you don't even know. These are practical examples of how to handle daily situations in addition to scripture and prayer.

And quite possibly the most important, we must teach the value of HUMILITY. The definition of humility is “to be made low”. Bummer. We don't like that whole concept. But I prefer the mindset of placing my own needs and desires on the back burner, and thinking of the other person's needs first. To be humble is to honor others before you receive honor yourself. There is also false humility. God never asks any of us to be doormats. However, we must realize we are all equal in God's eyes. We are all his favorites. Therefore, to hold yourself above others is wrong. To have a humble heart is to realize that you are no better than anyone else. Just different. And if washing feet was good enough for Jesus, then it needs to be a part of who we are. In order to enter in to covenant you must be humble. You must be willing to think of others before yourself. And you MUST be willing to put God FIRST.

So you see, without these qualities—honor, respect, trust, humbleness, and without a heart-value for covenant, we will continue to struggle with life's circumstances instead of being blessed by God's Truth.

Connection at the click of a button?

The rate of development of technology is astounding. In one generation (my lifetime) computers have gone from being roughly the size of an industrial refrigerator in 1973 to being small enough to fit in the palm of your hand today. Communication has been made an instantaneous thing. This is good in some ways, but it has fueled the instant gratification mindset we saw begin in the 1970s. “Gotta have it NOW!” It has birthed socially impossible relationships. Relationships with absolutely no honesty, no transparency. Connection can and many times does exist only on the device, and can begin and end at the touch of your fingertips. There is no desire to (or need to?) connect physically, emotionally, relationally, beyond the image on the screen. The enemy enters in gleefully, knowing this is a field wide open to his manipulation.

Teaching your toddler to operate a tablet and play games on line has become a surrogate parent; many times in the guise of “expanding his/her knowledge base”. Please don't misunderstand, I don't think all computer use or electronic devices should be banned from early learning. I recall my children watching Sesame Street every day. That was nearly as controversial, as the television became the babysitter. You may love your devices, but I guarantee they will NOT love you back.

My whole point is, if you do not have time to sit with your child and interact on the tablet, or computer, or phone or even television, something is wrong. Your priorities are off. Soon you will be complaining that your child is not paying enough attention to the appropriate tasks. Soon you will find their ability to focus on the spoken word is greatly hampered. If your priorities are keeping your child quiet and happy so you can do what you want to do, soon they will find their happiness elsewhere. And it will affect their attention span in school, at home, and later behind the wheel and in the workplace. They will not have a work ethic, because they never learned what that means. Neither will they be able to connect on a loving, spiritual level, or function in a loving, affectionate relationship in a fully reciprocal way.

“Work ethic is a term you don't hear much anymore. The average person keeps a job 2 years or less, from the most recent polls. When a problem (perceived or real) arises, we switch jobs or just quit, instead of working through it. It is by working through a problem that things change for the better. If this skill is not learned at home by practice and by example, it is not taught elsewhere; therefore children will be flying by the seat of their pants, wondering what to do next. They will do what their feelings dictate at the time, which is not a good way to make decisions.

It is now normal to depend upon technology to connect with others, to entertain, and to inform and educate. Now, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I have re-connected with lost family members and our ministry has connected with people all over the world via social media. But the good is contrasted by the very bad. We all are aware of pornography, pedophile sites, bomb construction instructions, terrorist sites and more that are available to anyone who can type in a search engine box. We know the good and bad sides of all of it. However, people who utilize electronics multiple times all day long (if not 24/7) are extremely sensitive about the topic of social detachment.

This, coupled with a lack of value for honor, respect and covenant in a child's upbringing are a petri dish for disaster in families, schools, workplace and government. You see, it's easy to connect emotionally with someone you only chat with on line, or visit on video chat. You can always have “a bad connection” or just flat out “hit the red x” if you get bored or disagree with that person. You can even block them from making contact with you in the future. How does this teach the life skills needed to develop relationships? It certainly does not teach the value of appropriate physical affection. I would even go so far as to say it separates people further, putting them in danger of only seeing and knowing what that person chooses to reveal (or manufacture) on line. You may meet in person, spend time together, sometimes you marry. But somewhere down the line the real person will be exposed. Yes, this can happen in physical encounters, and does. But I believe physical presence makes the difference. We cannot learn discernment of character if we don't see the person physically and look into their eyes. And we all, every living person, need physical touch. You see, we were given sensors by our creator God, not just in our hands but in our eyes, ears, mouth and brain. The flat image on a computer is deceiving, and after a while we forget to use these sensors. And that is where danger begins.

Putting it all together

In a society where the majority of our time is spent in front of some sort of impersonal device (television, computer, phone, tablet, video game), how do we teach the value of covenant, honor, respect, and trust? And why is this important?

Let's take movies and television, for instance. Most of us will agree upon the lack of value for respect, honor, trust and other positive values, in the media. Let's carry this thought through. IF we are spending most, if not all of our spare time this way, and these core values are not contained in what we are taking into our minds, what will the behavioral outcome be? Your behaviors will only be changed by those things you value. You must perceive or find personal gain from them.

If a child grows up in a home where he or she is constantly subjected to aggressive behavior and language on television and in real life, they will manifest those same behaviors, unless somewhere they are shown other options. And they are shown value for those options. If children are not taught to respect others, and are allowed to do what they want, when they want (including screaming when they don't get their way—until they do-- or constantly and rudely interrupting when others are speaking), and if they are not raised by parents who value and respect each other, the problem becomes generational.

I personally see a connection to all of this and our decreasing church attendance. I believe that children aren't brought up to value anything that they don't perceive to be centered around their lives. They hold no value for God or a church family. “After all, what's God ever done for me?” This is evident in their immediate gratification mindset; they won't work to earn anything, and won't wait for what they want.

So where did Covenant Go?

So, is covenant dead in America? I believe it is drawing what could be its last, staggering breath. What will our country be like if covenant, and all its values completely disappear? I don't want to know. I believe in the majority of cases that the concept of being “dissed” has taken on a whole new meaning. Honor is a joke. Respect is something you only have out of fear. Trust is non-existent. In many cases this is true, but not in all.

Somewhere in America there are families who sit around the dinner table without their cell phones, and talk about their day—with each other-- and learn to listen in order to understand. They help each other clean up after dinner. The children (yes, even the teenagers) listen to, obey and honor their parents. When they run in to problems, they ask their parents for help and advice. The family prays together, goes to church together and the kids even SING in church! They work together. When someone within the family or community needs help, they make a point of doing what they can. Somewhere in America there are whole communities of families who honor God, worship together, and value each other. They love our country and serve in whatever capacity they are able.

“Yeah, right.” I can hear people thinking this as they read. Is this your reality? Or have you come to the point where you believe this is euphemistic thinking, and will never happen? Well, I know it can.

We are the only country in the world who openly acknowledges that it is covered by God. What do I mean, and how can I make a statement like that? Think back when you used to recite the pledge of allegiance:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God,

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

No other country in the world says that. NONE. Why is that important? We are primarily a Christian nation. Now efforts are being made legally to remove the name of God from everything—curriculums, government buildings, our pledge of allegiance, music, art, insurance policies, and many other places. What does this teach our children? What does it show to the rest of the world? Think on this—God is love. Removing God...remove love. Do we need love in our government? Oh, you betcha!

We are God's people. We have his favor, if we choose to receive it. We don't have to earn it; it's already there. We just need to believe and receive. What difference would this make? When you believe in God, you must respect, love and honor him. If, as a Christian, you have surrendered your life to Christ his son, and received him as your savior, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, you must love yourself and others equally.

If you are a child of God, you are covered by him (to be “under God”). He protects you, guides you, is always with you. This doesn't mean nothing ever goes wrong. It means, just as with our own children, when we fall he picks us up. He loves us unconditionally. He will never, never leave us or forsake us. What is the value of that? When God is present, we have no successful enemies.

I believe if we as the body of Christ and as a nation walk in our faith, according to the core values of the word of God, and live as examples Jesus taught us to be, our nation will better reflect the heart of God. You see, he entered into covenant with us. His word shows us over and over again how he has made allowance for our failings. How he has loved us in spite of our bad decisions, and still loves us. I believe that the Everlasting Covenant of Jesus is available for us all. Individually, and as a nation.

Yes, we are a “melting pot”. I am not saying we have to convert everyone to Christianity. That's not our responsibility. You heard me right...that's NOT our job. It's God's job. OUR job is to be Christ to the world, starting right here in our own families, towns, counties, state and nation. We are to emulate the example Christ gave us. In order to do that well, we need to stay in fellowship with the body of Christ, and immerse ourselves in God's word. We need to be in Christ, and he in us, as he is in the Father. This is the example the world needs. When they look at us, they need to see Jesus. That is our responsibility. Why?

If we treat everyone, regardless of ethnic origin, religion, economic status or other factors, as equals; with love, respect and honor, whether or not we agree with their choices-- they will begin to see who Jesus is. If we do not, then we will appear to not have the same values Jesus did. Indeed, it would appear that we do not value Jesus as we value ourselves. We owe the world an encounter with Christ. When we treat them with love, we are giving them God.

Jesus Christ rose from the grave three days after dying for us on the cross. He sits next to his Father in heaven for eternity. Eternity in heaven in the presence of the Father is also available to everyone, regardless of our past decisions. All we need to do is ask Jesus to forgive our sins and become our savior. But to do this, we must believe in him.

It is only through love, honor, respect, covenant, trust and value that we can convey the grace of God. And it is only through the grace of God that our country can be mended and made whole. Somewhere down the line our value for entitlement superseded our value for honor. Our wants and selfish desires have taken the place of caring for the needs of others. It would seem that America's core values have drastically changed from honor above all, to “personal rights” and entitlement above all.

Yes, you may find qualities of kindness, honor, gentleness, respect and core values in other belief systems. But they are based on teachings of people who are dead. We have a living God, who gave us his living word. A God who pursues us relentlessly because his love for us is so deep. There is no other God above him. His goodness and kindness follows us all the days of our lives.

You see, we have forgotten what we believe. And if we forget, we don't pass it down to our children. And if we don't pass it to our children, they cannot walk in it. If they don't walk in it, all God's core values perish. Without the core values of God's word, our nation will falter and perish. We will succumb to the powers of this world, rather than find victory in Christ.

Yes, we say we love our country. Do you stand and sing when the national anthem is played and/or sung? Do you remove your hat and salute the flag? We say we want to see our country thrive. But what we dwell upon, we bring into being. What does your life reflect? Are you a person of honor? Do you walk in a lifestyle that reflects the values of Christ? Only in Christ can we see victory. Only in Christ can we overcome the enemy. Only in Christ can we recover what we have lost.

God entered into covenant with his people. He heard “one nation under God”, and he believed us. He was present at the signing of our Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution. He is doing his part. Are we?

I want to encourage you to walk in integrity. Bless others daily. Live up to your promises. Be honest and trustworthy. Resist temptation to take the easy way out. When others meet you, they need to meet Jesus. Be the good news of Christ, and teach this to your children and grandchildren. Show them the freedom of living “under God”. And be the person you want them to grow up to be.

These are life decisions that can be difficult. But it's all about decisions. God gave us, through the Holy Spirit, the gift of self-discipline. Use it. Ask for help if you need it. We can change our nation, or we can allow others to.

We must not let Covenant die, or our country will follow suit. At least that's the way I see it. I encourage you to thoughtfully put together your own personal covenant with God. What will you do for him for the rest of your life, even unto eternity? What will you covenant with him?

He gave you his one and only son, who is the Everlasting Covenant. What will you give him?

I believe in the victory of our country over evil. I believe in our victory over self-centered mindsets. I believe our country is the greatest country on earth. I am grateful to God every moment of every day that he created me at this time to live here in this place. I am excited at the possibilities we have before us. But I must consciously decide to walk in grace, truth, peace, honor, and all that God is. I must give my life for what he stands for. I must surrender my life to him. And I do, every moment of every day.

God is waiting patiently for your decision. He's holding up his end of the covenant. Are you?

Grace and peace to you, and may God bless you, and God bless America!