There is a common grace that God gives to all, even those who do not recognize Him. These are our natural talents which, whether we acknowledge Him or not, come from God. This common grace is both individual and corporate. There are kingdom principles that heathen nations can implement which will bring blessings to them even if they do not recognize where the blessings come from. You can trace all advancement of a civilization to the way that civilization embraced kingdom principles.

         The ultimate kingdom principle is love. The ultimate economic principle is love. Would you like to start a business that could not fail? “Love never fails.” To the degree that you implement love into your business, you cannot fail. This would begin with a love for your product or service. Then love your customers by always treating them right—righteously and with justice, which are the two foundational principles of God’s throne or kingdom. If you loved your neighbors, including your neighboring businesses, you would help create an atmosphere that would draw others and you would prosper.

         So love is the most powerful economic principle, and love is personal. Would you like to hear your spouse say that they love you because it is the law of the collective? Like it or not, believe it or not, you will love your kids more than the neighbor’s kids, though you can love the neighbor’s kids too. Likewise, the families that are the greatest blessing to the community are the strongest families, which are inevitably made up of the strongest, most secure individuals.

         America was unique and thereby exceptional because it was built on the celebration and protection of the individual first. With this devotion to the value of the individual, there was still a recognized need for the state, and for laws and boundaries. The main thing was that they were able to maintain the main thing as the main thing—it starts with the value of the individual, and the prosperity of the community was dependent on this.

         This is a basic kingdom principle. No one will be saved because they are the children of parents who know the Lord. There are still nations where most of the people think they are saved because they are citizens of a “Christian nation.” They are sadly mistaken.

         You will not be saved because your nation, or even your family, served the Lord. We must each serve Him. We must each be born again, and we are each personally responsible for loving the Lord and others, and for our actions. As we mature in this personal responsibility, we will be a blessing to others. The more we mature, the more we will bless. But it starts with each one of us personally. It starts with the individual.