Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him. – Mark 12:17
This hits the nail on the head for followers of Jesus during celebrations such as Independence Day. To whom do we pledge our allegiance? Can we be completely devoted to a King whose kingdom is not of this world and give unflinching devotion to a worldly kingdom such as the U.S.A. with its dim but meaningful promotion of–in its founding documents–values of the Kingdom of God?
I think it’s wise to contemplate this verse on days of patriotic celebration, perhaps allowing it to help us enter such celebrations more soberly.
I believe, for all its flaws (some grievous) and “this world” limitations, our nation is rare in human history. Even in the gummed-up machinery of governance, many godly principles are indeed foundational and apparent. Despite continuing questions and appropriate regret about a history including state-sanctioned slavery, the scandalous treatment of indigenous people, disregard for children laboring in factories, or suspect involvement in a particular war or military actions, our country remains a wondrous place. Some may put it more ironically: that it’s the worst country in the world… except for every other country!
We arrive at today’s celebration with the luxury to interrogate our own national history without fear of reprisal. So it’s pretty easy, from our comfortable and still intact civic and religious freedoms, to be critical and take pious pot-shots at zealous or misty-eyed emotionalism about all things red, white, and blue. In fact, the same “luxury” is at work when we look back on the history of the Church (though I’m not equating the two); that is, to judge with hindsight and chronological snobbery the often incomplete pieces of history handed down to us.
While I’ve never been one to wrap my faith in the flag, I am under no illusion about which flag grants me unparalleled earthly freedom to follow my Savior. To shed tears of gratitude (as I recently did when taking a long walk through Arlington National Cemetery) and to ponder and honor the undeserved favor shed on us–with which we have been entrusted. To celebrate such astonishing and unique freedoms, need not be idolatry or misplaced priority. Using our much-cherished freedoms to love and serve God and people is to become one of the sheep of God’s right hand:
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” – Matthew 25:31-33 (emphasis added; read more if you don’t know the difference between what happens to the sheep versus goats)
Want to be properly patriotic this July 4th? Want to bless the American nation on the great day of judgment that will come to all nations? Follow Jesus now in such a way that you take care of the least of these. Visit the sick and imprisoned. Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Offer the hope of Jesus to the lost…
Then we can hoist the flag, light the firecrackers, feel the heart-warming esprit de corps, sing about the beauty of spacious skies*, celebrate our national inheritances, earnestly shout “God bless America!” – and know that our patriotism is rightly ordered as we practice first-of-all-ness toward God.
Be God’s,
Owen
*IMO, the best of all our American anthems/hymns
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates, 1911 (Public Domain)
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
(or listen/watch here)
Image via Unsplash / Rene Bernal