The Bubble of Patriotism

I'll probably get shot for writing about this on my blog or even thinking this in the first place, considering my conservative upbringing, my patriotic family who insists that we place our hands over our hearts when we sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" or "God Bless America" IN CHURCH! Aah! One of the things that most ercks me in church.

Anyways...The bubble of patriotism...it really is a bubble, one that makes us ethnocentric and unwilling to consider the thoughts, feelings, families, or ideals of any other society, nation, or culture. We have become so consumed and concerned with protecting OUR freedoms, OUR rights, OUR safety, OUR comforts, that we could care less who we stomp on, who we kill, and who we send to hell without ever sharing with them the love and PEACE of Christ.

What is patriotism good for? I read that slogan on a picture in google images. Really, though, for followers of Christ, where should we stand on patriotism? Paul said in Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." We are not citizens of this world, this country, this kingdom. We are citizens of a kingdom that is unshakeable, one that is concerned for people's lives, ultimately for God's glory. Why are we so concerned, then, with pledging allegiance to a country (especially one that could care less about God)? God has given us much higher citizenship. Why are we settling for less? What are we communicating to the world, especially to the Afghan and Iraqi people, about the Lord, our Prince of Peace, when we go over there to kill them? What does that accomplish? It certainly doesn't reflect that we are citizens of heaven and not of the USA! It certainly doesn't further God's kingdom, the one that really matters. And it certainly doesn't communicate to them the love and peace of our God, the One who's calling out their names just as loudly as He is ours.

The bubble of patriotism...God is not American. We do not have a monopoly on God. He is God of the nations. He is the One who will take revenge if revenge is due. Otherwise, He has commanded us to love our neighbors (which has no boundaries) and go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. We must start seeing other nations, other cultures, other socieities as our brothers and sisters who need the Lord too. That changes our perspective on war...or at least it should.