Country vs Kingdom

Ever thought about how if you saw one more yard sign or commercial for a candidate you might run away screaming?  Yeah.  Every few years, right?  We get baptized in politics every time an election comes.  Not just baptized, drowned.  Held under until the bubbles stop.  BY GOLLY YOU WILL VOTE FOR ME!  And it's not just the "vote for me" ones that are the problem... it's all the "don't vote for him because he likes bananas" BS ads that just take up so. much. time.  Because obviously if you vote for the other person you're going straight to hell because you're a horrible human. 

-massive eye roll-

Don't get me wrong.  You should be informed.  You should vote.  You do have patriotic duties and responsibilities as a part of being a citizen of our great country. 

But let's talk about how great our country is.

Christians, especially here in the sweltering area of the country, tend to talk about how great our Christian nation is. 

I'm not sure when the last time our nation was Christian but it sure hasn't been since I've been alive. 

Our country was founded on some basic moral principles that we often mistake as Christian.  Yes many of our founders were Christian as far as what faith they claimed but we have no idea what sort of faith many of them really employed.  Murder being wrong isn't just a Biblical issue, it's a moral one.  Yes it's originally a commandment from God but when we founded our country and established the separation of church and state we created laws and 'truths' based on moral principles that the majority of people could agree upon.  We established a freedom of religion specifically so that people of all faiths could feel comfortable here and could worship as they choose.  *ahem* That means EVERY faith has a right to worship who they choose when they choose how they choose so long as it does not harm others. That's still patriotic to support and defend even if it's not OUR faith.

As Americans, we tend to hold our patriotism as the highest form of religious righteousness.  Now we probably don't word it like that but we do wear our flag about fifty different ways (why in the world is a flag as a teeny bikini a patriotic display?!) as a part of showing off our pride in our country.  We also tend to carry an air of superiority surrounding our idea of being free... because we live in the land of the free, we are inherently better than you.  We also forget that we are free to choose but not free from the consequences of said choices. (*note the parallel to our freedom from sin is the same*)  Freedom (in both instances) doesn't give us license to do what we want without any blowback.  It just means we have the freedom to play stupid games and also the freedom to win stupid prizes.  

Some of that idea of freedom and #merica is just cultural arrogance (perpetuated by previously mentioned elections) but some of it is part of our nature from way back.  There have always been issues understanding what kingdom we belong to and which one matters most.  What rules are we to follow and enforce?  What is (and isn't) part of being American and what's part of being Christian?

If we truly believe that our faith is ours and must be chosen by others in order to for it to be real for them too, then we cannot continue to bank on a president who says everything we agree with. 

Why not?

Because he (or she!) is his own person.  A president is FREE to think, believe, and act in the manner he chooses... just like I am.  If a president says they are not Christian, then I cannot hold them to my Christian beliefs as a part of my government.  I can hold him to the morals we've established as a society, but not MY morals.  I cannot choose to disrespect him, either.  Well... can, but shouldn't.  

The end of Philippians 3 tells us that we are citizens of Heaven and awaiting his return (citizenship established) and then Romans 13 tells us that we must submit to governing authorities because those authorities are from God.  They've been placed there by God.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say we have to submit to them IF they're Christians.  They're God's servants even if they're not meaning to serve Him.  You think this president or that one is too powerful to change what God can use?  

I mean we've seen some pretty stupid stuff take place in the White House, but #merica right?  Why are we so loyal to the idea of our country that we are disloyal to our Heavenly citizenship?   By disrespecting the authorities in place, we disrespect where God told us to submit to them.  

Now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that people are going to say "Well he's telling me to do X and that's not right."  Ok but is it not right according to the Bible or according to you?  Or according to what you understood about history from whatever you read but didn't experience?  Most of the time we are upset that they're not in agreement with our opinions or our faith despite the fact that they don't have the responsibility to match either.  If it doesn't directly contradict what God's commanded of us, then we are SOL on reasons not to submit to the authority whether we like it or not. 

Eventually, we have to understand that our ideas behind patriotism do not give us anything to boast about because the only thing we have to boast about is Christ.  There is a line we have to be careful not to cross in our efforts to submit to authority and be IN but not to be OF the world.  (Side note- this popular phrase is actually well-known but not a verse!  It's an idea drawn from John 17: 14-18 but isn't a direct quote or verse.  #TheMoreYouKnow)  

We also have to remember that submitting to the current authority might mean not posting disrespectful memes or videos, checking our sources before we share info (esp that of a political nature), and to check to see if we're standing on Biblical principles or on American pastimes and "heritage".  I've found a LOT of things I believed fervently weren't lining up 100% and I had to (and still have to) take a long look at whether a soapbox belief was something to stand on or something to kneel for and ask God for better understanding. 

When you're praying this week:

-pray for your state and national leaders  (now's a great time to look them up if you're not 100% certain about who those are)

-pray for the soldiers defending my freedom to type this in my home without fear of my Bibles being confiscated and for your freedom to read this (and your freedom to disagree with my perspective on this!)

-look up the top two issues you're most passionate about and do at least twenty minutes of research on the history behind those issues and the current stances / plans leaders and upcoming candidates take on both off them

-ask God to give you a clearer picture of what it means for you to be first a citizen of Heaven and second a person in submission to our governing authorities

-think of a friend who believes differently from you (Christian or not); take time to pray for them and pray that your interactions with them would be respectful even in disagreement so that Christ is always what's represented in your speech and actions