What does the phrase "In God We Trust" mean?
"Nothing can be more definite than that our nation was created in a spiritual environment and with a solid faith in God," according to the history of the House of Representatives. In 1955, Florida Representative Charles Bennett said these comments on the House floor as he introduced a bill requiring the motto In God We Trust to be printed on all US coins. On July 11, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially signed the bill into law. Although the phrase "In God We Trust" had been printed on coins since the end of the American Civil War, Bennett's legislation made it official. As a result, the phrase became the United States of America's national motto.
The Bible has numerous passages that urge readers to put their trust in the Lord, even though the exact words "In God We Trust" do not occur there. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding," Solomon exhorts his readers (Proverbs 3:5). In one of his songs, Isaiah urges listeners to "trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD our God we have an everlasting Rock" (Isaiah 26:4, NASB). People should "give the sacrifices of righteousness and faith in the LORD," David continues (Psalm 4:5, NASB). Similar passages in Scripture frequently exhort readers to put their faith in the Lord.
We also find examples of people who exemplified the phrase "Throughout God We Trust" in the Bible. Jesus had faith in His Father (Hebrews 2:13). Daniel put his trust in God and escaped the lions' den (Daniel 6:23). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three of Daniel's comrades, put their trust in God, and He freed them from the raging furnace (Daniel 3:28). According to David, God never deserts those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 9:10).
Contrarily, there are numerous scriptural cautions against placing your faith in anybody other than God. Job stated that putting one's confidence in money is a sin that is equivalent to rejecting God (Job 31:24–28). Solomon warns that whomever believes what his heart tells him is a fool (Proverbs 28:26). God warns humanity in Jeremiah not to put their reliance in them, saying that doing so will result in them becoming like a shrub in the desert rather than a tree planted by water (Jeremiah 17:5–8).
God doesn't mean to imply that people shouldn't have faith in one another when He says they should trust Him. In actuality, the kind of love He demands of us "hopes all things" and "believes all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV). The caution is to put your faith in others rather than in God. The issue is that the heart is diseased and full of lies, and only God is aware of its full depravity (Jeremiah 17:9). He alone is deserving of our complete trust. We won't be let down if we put our trust in God, just as the ancients who could declare, "In God we trust" (Psalm 22:5).
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