What role does or should patriotism play in church and congregational life (in Northminster, specifically, as well)?

Instead of a regular sermon on Father’s Day, we did a “Q&A Sunday.”  Folks submitted questions about faith, the Bible, the church or Christianity in general, and I did my best to answer them that morning.  We received way more questions than we had time for, so I will be addressing some of them through the newsletter and others in Sunday School.  As this month we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I thought the above question was particularly timely.

This is also timely due to how Christian and biblical values are being politicized (in some good and some not so good ways) in our current cultural moment.  There are a lot of issues that very quickly come up when we start to talk about how to be a faithful Christian and a good citizen, so we’re going to keep our focus pretty narrowly on the question asked.  To that end, it would probably be helpful to start with defining our terms.  According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “patriotism” is defined as “the quality of being patriotic; devotion to and rigorous support of one’s country.”  Dr. Case Thorp, moderator of the 39th EPC General Assembly and current theologian in residence at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando provides a more helpful definition of patriotism for our conversation: “love of one’s country — its people, its history, and its common good — without ultimate allegiance to a nation or people group above Christ.”

As we think about what patriotism looks like for a faithful Christian, I think there are a few principles we should keep in mind.  First, our love for country should follow the biblical counsel on love for self.  Scripture holds two truths that exist seemingly in tension with one another.  On the one hand, we are created in the image of God and as such are the “crown jewel” of God’s creation.  On the other hand, we are fallen and sinful human beings.  As a result, we do not ignore our brokenness, nor do we wallow in our sins.  We give thanks that God created us as we are (Psalm 139:13-14), while also confessing our sinfulness (1 Tim. 1:15-17).  So, we should give thanks for the country in which we live with all the freedoms and blessings that come with that, while also acknowledging our country is as imperfect as the people who comprise it.  Our country has done great things, and terrible things, and a faithful patriotism holds those truths together, in tension.

Secondly, our love for country should be balanced by remembering our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God.  It’s easy to miss how radical it was for the Apostle Paul to write, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Eph. 2:19-20)  In Paul’s day, all of the rights and privileges one enjoyed was entirely contingent on one’s status as a citizen of the Roman Empire.  For Paul to put his citizenship in heaven above his citizenship in the Roman Empire was to put himself a great risk.  The risks are not as great for us, but the truth is no less the same.  When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we become citizens of the Kingdom of God, and that citizenship should be first and foremost in our hearts and our lives, over and above any citizenships in the kingdoms of this world.

That leads to our third principle, which is that our love for country should never supplant our first love — Jesus.  As Jesus says in Revelation 2, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Rev. 2:3-5)  Our primary love, above love for our selves, our families, and even our country, should be our love for Jesus Christ.  That’s what Jesus means when he said, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:37)  This is why, in our Sunday morning services of worship, we might acknowledge the national holidays, but we do not build the services around them.  Worship should be centered only around God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Finally, our love for country should never compromise our love for neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40) and enemies (Matt. 5:43-48).  We should be able to express our patriotism without showing favoritism.  As James writes, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” (James 2:8-9)  What set the Christians of the first century apart was how they loved all people, regardless of economic, social, or political status.  Scripture is replete with commands to love the alien and the stranger, because that is what we once were (see Ephesians 2:19, cited above, as well as 1 Peter 2:9-17).

There is much more that can, and probably should, be said on this topic, and so I recommend these resources for further reading and study (underlined text are links that work in the online versions of the newsletter):

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. — Hebrews 11:14-16

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison