Trying Not to Sound Unpatriotic

I want to do my best to not sound unpatriotic or like some left-wing liberal flag-burning anarchist...but at the same time I want you to know my heart. This week is the Fourth of July. Its a day that we take each year to celebrate the freedom that was found at the expense of the hundreds and thousands of lives sacrificed so that a dream could have a future.

This dream was freedom. This freedom was one that these same brave men and women laid their lives down knowing they would never see. But they held the hope that their sacrifice would be one that would benefit their children and children's children for generations to come. And it has. And for that I am so grateful. Any and every idiot has studied the years and events that surround our nation's freedom. We know that the pilgrams came to America to find religious freedom. We hear the stories of the patriots that dreamt of a government that would not regulate their worship and wouldn't tell them what rote religious rituals to follow. Any and every idiot knows that.

Yeah, so if you have gone to college you have heard the reverse. You have heard some over educated person with letters after their last name tell you that all the founding fathers...yada yada yada... were deists and not Christians...blah blah blah... that they wanted religious freedom so there wouldn't be any religion not freedom within Christianity... more blahs, more yadas. Both sides have their history books that tell their side, both have websites, periodicals, and even DVD's that tell history from their perspective. Blah...blah...blah...yada...yada...yada.

That's just the introduction.

What's really on my mind is this: tonight we were talking about how the worship service was going to go tomorrow. My pop in law said something about how the worship leader is going to do the pledge to the flag, the christian flag, and the Bible. Now I am totally up for people as a congregation reciting what they believe together. Even though the idea seems a little...uh...VBSish...or elementary as he put it, its still pretty neat I guess.

But here is what I couldn't shake. Why? Why do the pledge to the flag during a worship service to Jesus? Jesus isn't American. Nope...He isn't. Ok, if you didn't know that and are opening up a new window to go to wikipedia to make sure, let me spare you the trouble. He was Jewish. For some reason in the US we have painted Christianity to look like an American religion. Sure, we were founded on Christian principles and values. Sure, many of the founding fathers were Christians and gave God credit for winning the war and us having freedom. But they also gave God credit for the right to steal the Native Americans' land and even Constantine...pagan of pagan's before his supposed "conversion" gave Jesus credit for his victory in war.

Here's my point: America owes Jesus...not the other way around. The only flag we should ever spiritually fly is that of the cross. Without the cross their would be no salvation. Without Jesus their would be no cross. Jesus doesn't need to share the spotlight with a nation's birthday. Of course, I say sing a couple partiotic songs...God Bless America if you want or something like that, but come on...most Christians don't even know the doxology. Most Christians can't tell you the Ten Commandments. Most Christians don't know the books of the Bible. Most Christians don't know what they believe and if they think they do, they can't tell you why. Let's spend our time and our pulpits and our microphones and our worship music singing to Jesus, preaching about Jesus, teaching about Jesus, and honoring Jesus.

Just to let you know, that's my pop in law's biggest struggle with tomorrow. "We have to honor Jesus through all the other stuff." In no way am I saying he is doing something wrong and am I not knocking the church service. It just got me thinking on this subject and all these feelings about stuff rushed to my brain. I am knocking this Americanized idea of Christianity. I bet the average church "lifer" (someone who has gone to church all of their life) would get offended if you took the American flag off the stage...the one that has been there since before they started attending. I am saying that a lot of times in America, we put the stars and stripes above the cross and tomb.

I love my country. I thank Jesus for the freedoms I have. I thank Him that I don't have to fear for my life when I worship Him. I thank Him that He allowed our nation to be founded on the religion it was so that we aren't running around blowing each other up in the name of holy war. But every once in a while I am a little envious of those in China and other nations hostile to the gospel and to the church. There is just something so New Testament about the persecutions they face for their faith.

So as Wednesday approaches and you see the flags waving and the fireworks going off, thank Jesus for your freedom. Thank God for America. This peace of land is a nation because of its freedom and because of the cultures that have blended to make what it is. Be patriotic. We owe that to those who came before us and paved the way of freedom. But most of all thank Jesus for the price He paid and the freedom that was found in Him.

If you get some time...check out the song Love or Gain by the band "Lakes."

Jesus isn't done with the US. The the resources and freedom He has blessed us with, you better be sure that something is going to be required of us. Christians...be ready, be missional, and be purposeful.

Amen