Patriotism & Faith

Is it okay to be patriotic and still call yourself a Christian? There seems to be some controversy surrounding this topic. Historically, there was a loyalty heirarchy. It was God first, country and then family. That God is our first loyalty is biblically referenced in the following passage: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you- Matthew 6:33. The meaning behind this is clear. With God as the center of our life, things begin to fall into place.

But has that ever been good enough for us? It should be, but history tells us the answer is no. Starting in the Bible early on we see how Adam and Eve had a personal relationship with God and sought to overturn that because they wanted more, the knowledge of the tree of good and evil. Then we have the nation of Israel who had God as their king but wanted a man to lead them instead.

Fast forward to today. We could put God in charge of our life and therefore by extension our career, family and communities. Instead, we put our faith in other things. But, back to patriotism, where does that fall in? With God as our center, we have wisdom in marriage and we raise our children in the fear and reverence of God. We naturally want our laws and elected representatives to reflect the eternal truths that we have come to learn.

We are proud of what our communities and nation come to represent. Proud in a healthy way. We have hope for the future and feel safe and secure in our environment. Placing Jesus at the center of our life also means that we understand the sin nature of mankind and we don't look for worldly perfection. The Judeo-Christian ethic gives a realistic view of the sinful nature of our hearts.

That is what lead the founding fathers of the United States to write the constitution and set up the type of government that they did. It was full of amazing checks and balances to ensure that we would have a good chance of thwarting the evil inherent in political structure and in our hearts. Being thoroughly grounded in the Bible guided them as political leaders and they mirrored that ethos in legislation and in judicial matters. That we would want to preserve and protect such a nation is at the heart of a healthy patriotism. This is not at all adversarial to faith.

However, what people erroneously fear, as regards patriotism, and wish to stamp out began in Europe following World War II. Two huge multi-national conflagrations had devastating consequences and it was concluded by people of the so-called upper echelons of society that this was due to national boundaries and allegiances.

The move toward globalism was now In full swing. That left patriotism in the dust and its' reputation sullied. But is patriotism really the enemy? I think not. Look at the United Nations, a global organization. It is one of the most corrupt bodies ever in existence. Even as we tend toward globalism has this made us the one big, happy family that we desire?

No, it has not and it will not. Even reality television shows know that when they put 10 or 12 people together in a house or on a deserted island they will naturally form alliances and mess with one another for selfish gain. The godly mandate to love one another as God has loved us is a virtue. However, the many checks and balances that nations exert upon one another may do more to keep each other on the right track than we think.

Criminals have often taken advantage of weak points in a nations boundaries to slip through and sell drugs, or even worse. Groups will naturally form to take advantage of others based on circumstances, ex, criminal groups in New York during Black Lives Matter protests. Many people have seen first hand what a big happy family that we really are when you start cutting police units and budgets. There starts to be an increase in looting, vandalism, assaults and murders.

It is natural to form nation states with spiritually and culturally aligned peoples. But, what will be the end result of the call for open boarders and the decrying of nationalism? A world gorvernment will have to form. The larger a government entity the larger the corruption and factions. I love the way the founding fathers did it in the United States. They created the federal government and the state system. There is unity but it also allows for difference in the ways that the states can operate. However, It is important to remember that all of this originally worked because the nation declared itself to be one nation under God. That was the spiritual alignment that was the lynchpin holding it all together.

If the world joins together in some sort of new world order, what will the spiritual basis of that be? It will not be a united group. So even if we tried to create a world order based upon a system of nation states and an overriding world body similar to the U.S. model it won't be one world under God. Under God is what it takes to achieve those results that we crave. So, in the meantime, we have got to be more godly and more concerned with the spiritual truths outlined in the Bible than we ever have been before.

And He shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.- Isaiah 2:4 

More than half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia. "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened." Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed 8 volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened."
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 1983 Templeton Address