It may just be that I'm not exactly the most nationalistic person in the world, but for the longest time, I've been wrestling with a strange attitude creeping into my thinking... something that feels foreign, not only to my past way of thinking, but to the thinking of those around me now.
What do you think about the importance of politics... of the government... of America?
By that, I don't mean "What's you're opinion of politics?" or "Are you liberal or conservative?" No, I'm asking about something more meaningful than that. What I'm really asking is, "How important is it?" And before you label me as an anarchist or even worse, a college student that doesn't vote... let me explain.
I grew up like every average American kid, and was born and raised in the south. As a result, my education taught me that there was glory in the American Revolution and every war since, that democracy is king (pun anyone?), and that freedom, justice, and the American dream are what we as Americans should strive for above all. While I understand how an American education leads to an American glorification, that's not even what I want to address. What I have really come to realize now is that... the church does it too.
What do I mean, you ask? Let me put forward a couple of examples. Growing up, I remember several points of debate within the Christian community concerned with faith and country. The highlights include the possibility of removing "In God We Trust" from currency, removing "Under God" from the pledge of alegiance, teaching evolution in schools, and just about every election featuring the godly conservative against the atheist democrat (during a debate in 2004, my siblings and i threw easter eggs at the TV when John Kerry showed up on the screen). Now it's true that these issues contain aspects of our faith and citizenship and must therefore be recognized. However, when the church gets up in arms while claiming that "God is being taken out of America," I believe we have crossed a line.
I spent the 2 weeks studying Acts 10 as a part of my Greek Exegesis course last fall. This chapter marks the beginning of the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles. Take a minute to realize what that means.Throughout the Old Testament period, God communicated with, protected, and disciplined the nation of Israel. He commanded his people to keep away from the other "Canaanite nations" so that the idol worship and immorality of the culture would not pull them away from the true God. In Acts 10, Peter shares the Gospel with these pagan "outsiders," and they come to belief in Christ. What a glorious turn-around this was, not only for the Gentiles, but for the apostles to realize that the whole WORLD could come to Christ!
While the apostles realized the glory of God's plan, some of the Jewish people were less understanding. Many held tight to their identity as a nation set apart, and reacted violently and maliciously towards any who thought otherwise. They saw God and Nation as one inseparable concept, and saw any change in that as heresy. Could it be that the American church does the same?
When we shake our heads in shame because the government wants to take God out of the pledge, are we doing so because less people will come to Christ, or because our country won't take up our Christian identity? When we groan as states legalize same-sex marriage (the number is constantly growing), are we saddened that so many in our country are caught in such a painful, entrapping sin that misses God's best for us, or are we simply upset that others are allowed to sin... even others that don't even know Christ?
When we hold America to a Christian standard, we tell hundreds of thousands of people that they have to obey a God that they don't believe in. We shove aside the Gospel and God's grace, and instead place commandments of God on those who don't even know Him. In fact, how contradictory to the gospel is that? So often we get frustrated and angry with those who don't abide by God's standards when we know they haven't even experienced his grace. In this we reflect our desire for moral conformity rather than the salvation of our countrymen.
America is indeed a blessing from God, a place to live and interact in great freedom, and for that I am thankful. But what if America wasn't the most important identity we hold? What if it were simply the context in which God has placed us to reach the world? Can we see the presence of sin as a need for God's grace and forgiveness? Can we pray for all the canidates, see votes as opportunities and not duties, and the increase in godlessness as an opportunity for revival?
Let freedom ring in the hearts of the redeemed, let liberty come to free slaves of sin, and let the justice of God come with His kingdom.
Brian
