"After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, 'The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people." [Deut. 9:4-6]
We like to keep score with outward manifestations of our own righteousness, to believe that the things we think are good are from God and the things we think are bard are from the devil. It's not that easy.
We don't have a good handle on what is good and what is bad. Satan offered Christ in the wilderness things we'd perceive as good -- riches and power -- but Christ rejected them because He knew it wasn't from the Father. Sometimes bad things happen for good reason and to good effect.
Are the material blessings we enjoy from God or satan? Are they blessings or a curse? Is God glorified because of it or are you glorified? There's your answer.
We are not born into America because we are righteous. We were born here for a purpose. God's purpose.
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