The faith of our first president

Americans celebrated George Washington’s birthday just a few days ago, and, as we mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, it is worth recalling what made our nation’s first president so worthy of honor. We might consider his many virtues displayed at various points during the Revolution and the early decades of the American republic. We might, for instance, point to his fortitude in times of trial and want as he led a poorly resourced Continental army. We might point to his wisdom, his honesty, his integrity, and his bravery. But one thing that brings together all of these worthy attributes is Washington’s enduring faith in divine providence.

From his early military adventures in the Ohio Valley to his exploits throughout the Revolutionary War, Washington experienced and confessed the reality of God’s providential hand. In some cases, these were expressions of divine favor. God’s blessings could even be discerned in the midst of defeat. Washington survived engagements unscathed when horses were shot out from under him and his men sustained heavy losses. Right at the beginning of the Revolutionary War in 1776, a heavy fog rolled in to cover the retreat of Continental forces from the Battle of Long Island, allowing the army to fall back and survive. Without such intervention the Revolution would have been short-lived indeed.

Many have doubted the veracity or the depth of Washington’s faith. But as Michael and Jana Novak document in their carefully argued book on Washington’s religious convictions, Washington is best understood as a man of integrity whose inner convictions manifested clearly in his public comportment. And from that perspective Washington was a man of faith in divine providence, a personal providence that was worthy of praise and thanksgiving. Washington faithfully attended church and served in ecclesiastical leadership even amid the travails of military and civic service.

Washington also saw divine providence in the sufferings and setbacks he experienced. Throughout his life, whether in plenty or in want, whether in success or in failure, Washington endeavored to honor divine wisdom and be obedient to God’s will. As the Novaks write, “by Providence Washington understood both the total sovereignty of God over concrete contingent events and the benevolence of God, even when his dispensations plunged mortals into the most severe trials and difficulties.”

We might count among the acts of divine providence displayed in the founding era the leadership of George Washington itself. Although his humility would never allow him to reflect on himself as an instrument of God’s blessing, Washington’s career is a powerful testimony to the divine favor that was bestowed on a fledgling nation. Only a leader who combined Washington’s rare attributes could have successfully led our nation through its revolutionary struggles and into a period of relative stability and peace in its earliest years.

Most remarkable, perhaps, was Washington’s willingness to retire from a position of great public privilege and lay down political power. His decision to stand down after two terms as president set a lasting precedent and example for many generations of political leaders, many of whom did not possess his humility or wisdom. As our 43rd President George W. Bush put it in an essay on the first president, “Few qualities have inspired me more than Washington’s humility. I have studied the corrupting nature of power, and how retaining power for power’s sake has infected politics for generations. Our first president could have remained all-powerful, but twice he chose not to. In so doing, he set a standard for all presidents to live up to.”

As President Bush also notes, Washington’s contemporaries understood the significance of this wise decision. King George III, Washington’s great adversary in the American War for Independence, reportedly observed that Washington’s commitment to the peaceful transfer of power after the conclusion of the war, confirmed in his later choice to retire from the presidency after two terms, made Washington “the greatest man in the world.”

George Washington was certainly not perfect, but he was the leader America needed. Washington would remind us to be thankful to God for the dispensations of His grace, and we should consider the first president himself as among the greatest of these gifts. Washington undoubtedly was providentially provided as a blessing for these United States, and on the eve of the 250th anniversary of our nation, George Washington ought to be both remembered and celebrated.